The 7th round of NAFTA negotiations took place in Mexico City from February 25-March 5 with relatively little fanfare as the talks were overshadowed by President Trump’s comments that his administration would impose Section 232 tariffs on aluminum and steel imports. Following the close of the round, President Trump issued Presidential Proclamations announcing the tariffs on March 8.

Officials are nearing completion of chapters on telecommunications and technical barriers to trade and closed discussions on good regulatory practices, administration and publication, and sanitary and phytosanitary measures (SPS). The three parties also agreed to a specific chapter dedicated to energy, which the U.S. previously opposed.

On the more difficult issues, some discussions are taking place but the path to completion remains unclear.

  • Autos rule of origin: Officials reportedly continued discussions over Canada’s proposal on the rule of origin for autos, which would incorporate intellectual property and technology in determining country of origin. However, the U.S. has still not given any sign it will move away from its initial proposal requiring a regional content requirement of 85 percent and a U.S.-originating content requirement of 50 percent.
  • State-to-state dispute settlement: Mexico and Canada have proposed modifying the rules for selection of panelists in state-to-state dispute settlement. However, it remains unclear whether the U.S. will agree to a form of binding dispute settlement.
  • Investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS): Canada and Mexico have initiated bilateral discussions on ISDS without the United States. The Unite States has not shown signs of seeking any ISDS commitments thus far beyond the “opt-in” system it initially proposed.
  • Procurement: Similar to ISDS, Canada and Mexico are discussing bilateral options for liberalizing procurement access for their respective markets. The U.S. has thus far not engaged in these discussions.

There was no joint statement following the March round. U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) Robert Lighthizer noted progress made on relatively non-controversial chapters but warned that “time is running very short” for the negotiations.

NAFTA talks could be further complicated by President Trump’s action to impose Section 232 tariffs on imports of steel and aluminum, effective March 23. President Trump’s March 8 Presidential Proclamations on the tariffs initially exempts imports from Canada and Mexico, but appears to suggest that the exemptions are conditioned on ongoing discussions to address transshipment through both countries.

Meanwhile, statements by USTR Lighthizer and President Trump have suggested that the aluminum and steel tariffs could be used as a bargaining chip during NAFTA negotiations. Canada and Mexico have insisted that the discussions are on separate tracks.

The next NAFTA round is tentatively scheduled for the week of April 8 in Washington D.C.