MEXICO CITY — Trade chiefs from the three NAFTA countries are due to cap off the second round of talks today with a shared public appearance, but sources close to the negotiations say little headway has been made. Chrystia Freeland, Canada’s foreign minister, will share the stage with U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Mexican economy minister Ildelfonso Guajardo. Officials told Bloomberg on condition of anonymity that the parties have not reached a consensus on any chapter of the agreement. Among other issues, Canada has pressed the U.S. to ban states from passing controversial union-busting “right-to-work” laws. A third round of talks is scheduled to take place in Ottawa later this month.
One win for Canada came in the form of the lifting of a 19.88% countervailing duty on softwood lumber. That leaves most forestry firms paying anti-dumping tariffs at a rate of just 6.87%.
