Canada takes U.S. President Donald Trump's comments about pulling out of NAFTA seriously and has no indication when the White House might act, Finance Minister Bill Morneau said on Monday.

If Donald Trump invokes Article 2205 of NAFTA, providing a six-month notice of withdrawal from the deal, Freeland said that's not necessarily the end of the line.

Canada and Mexico are prepared to engage the United States on one of its most contentious demands for NAFTA, in an early indication that proposals currently deemed non-starters could, in theory, be redesigned into something all three countries can live with.

That absence of research applies to both elected branches of the U.S. government: the White House and congressional researchers.

Canada's chief negotiator for the original NAFTA says it would not be the end of the world if the agreement disappeared.

"A full termination of NAFTA would not be disastrous for Canada, but it certainly wouldn’t be positive."

A phone call from U.S. President Donald Trump's son-in-law set off a frantic scramble ending in sighs of relief across three national capitals that the North American Free Trade Agreement would survive.

Canada has "continued to exploit the American dairy and lumber industries," said a draft order.