NAFTA negotiations resumed Tuesday morning as Americans marked the 17th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland told reporters gathered in Washington where she is meeting now with U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer that the memory and reflections of that day should drive home the significance of the relationship between Canada and the United States.
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“Maybe that helps us all put into perspective the negotiations that we’re having and put into historical significance the relationship between Canada and the United States,” Freeland said.
“We’re neighbours and neighbours help each other when they need help.”
Negotiations have stretched on for 13 months so far and are stalled on a number of issues including dispute resolution, cultural protection, and how much access American farmers should have to the Canadian dairy market.
Over the weekend, negotiators continued working to try to hammer out a deal.
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As a result of what Freeland described as their “hard work,” officials decided it would be best to hold a meeting.
“I spoke with Ambassador Lighthizer over the weekend,” Freeland said.
“Our teams continued to work during the weekend. They did some very hard work and the discussions over the weekend were, as they were at the beginning of this process, constructive and productive, and we decided it would be a good idea to have a meeting today.”
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Following that meeting, she spoke again with reporters and said both sides had had “productive, constructive” conversations.
“We’re now at the stage where we need to go back, look at what we’re hearing on both sides, look at the details at the official level, and come back this afternoon,” she said.
When asked whether her presence in Washington is an indication either of things going well or a challenge occurring that required her direct intervention, Freeland said she and Lighthizer had agreed not to negotiate in public but noted there is better understanding of what both sides need in a deal.
“It is a truism of trade negotiations that nothing is done until everything is done. We have been working extremely intensively,” she said.
“We have some real work we need to get done, we’ll be talking on the phone, and then we’ll come back to meet face to face later this afternoon.”
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