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NAFTA negotiator tells Canada to be patient for U.S. response on proposals

Click to play video: '6th round of NAFTA negotiations underway in Montreal'
6th round of NAFTA negotiations underway in Montreal
ABOVE: It's taken NAFTA negotiators six months to get to the hard stuff - and for Canada, there are three big issues on the table. Vassy Kapelos reports – Jan 24, 2018

MONTREAL – Quebec’s chief NAFTA negotiator says U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer will have the final say as to whether Canada’s counter proposals have any traction.

That means it will be several days before Canada learns whether it has done enough to save the talks.

Canadian negotiators have countered so-called U.S. poison pills with proposals for higher continental content requirements for automobiles, and on NAFTA’s dispute resolution mechanisms and contentious five-year sunset clause.

WATCH: Trump signals interest in trade deals with TPP partners, suggesting intentions if NAFTA fails

Click to play video: 'Trump signals interest in trade deals with TPP partners'
Trump signals interest in trade deals with TPP partners

READ MORE: ‘U.S. has not moved an inch’ during NAFTA negotiations, sources say

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Canada tabled its proposals this week at the pivotal sixth round of talks, continuing today in Montreal.

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Lighthizer doesn’t arrive in Montreal until Sunday, and is to close the talks at joint press conference on Monday with Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland and their Mexican counterpart, Ildefonso Guajardo.

WATCH: ‘Canadians are really frustrating’, Paul Ryan says about NAFTA negotiations

Click to play video: '‘Canadians are really frustrating’: Paul Ryan on NAFTA negotiations'
‘Canadians are really frustrating’: Paul Ryan on NAFTA negotiations

Raymond Bachand, Quebec’s chief negotiator and former provincial finance minister, says the Canadian team isn’t expecting any formal response from their American counterparts until they get their marching orders from Lighthizer.

“We’re going to see Monday how it goes,” Bachand said as business leaders from all three countries gathered in Montreal to discuss the deal.

“I think we have to wait for Ambassador Lighthizer to be here because obviously the U.S. negotiators need a mandate. And these were new ideas so they have to caucus together.”

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READ MORE: Canada to offer 2 counter-proposals to U.S. NAFTA demands

Freeland discussed Canada’s counter-proposals with Lighthizer in Davos, Switzerland on Thursday. Canadian officials said he “didn’t shoot anything down” but remained otherwise non-committal.

WATCH: Canada convinced Donald Trump is going to tear up NAFTA, according to Reuters

Click to play video: 'Canada convinced Donald Trump is going to tear up NAFTA: Reuters'
Canada convinced Donald Trump is going to tear up NAFTA: Reuters

U.S. President Donald Trump further muddied the waters on the key question of whether he will activate NAFTA’s six-month withdrawal clause during an interview with CNBC.

“NAFTA’s a horrible deal. We’re renegotiating it. I may terminate NAFTA, I may not. We’ll see what happens,” Trump said Thursday.

When pressed, he replied: “Will it be renegotiated? We’re tying right now with Bob Lighthizer and the whole group. I think we have a good chance, but we’ll see what happens.”

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