Canadian Foreign Minister Arrives in D.C. for ‘Last-Minute’ NAFTA Talks

Canadian Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland arrived in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday in a “last-minute sprint” to come to an agreement on a U.S.-Mexico-Canada trade deal, one day after President Donald Trump announced that he would get rid of NAFTA in favor of a bilateral agreement with Mexico. The Wall Street Journal reports Freeland had been sidelined for three months before Tuesday and presented her objections to certain provisions of the U.S.-Mexico agreement. Trump reportedly faces pressure from Congress—with some members vowing not to approve of any trade deal without Canada—and a time crunch. The president has only 90 days after notifying Congress to sign a deal, and he reportedly wants a deal done before the “new Mexican administration comes to power” on Dec. 1. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Tuesday said the country would “engage in a positive and constructive way” and would ultimately sign “a deal as long as it’s good for Canadians.”