TORONTO (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 30th November, 2019) Most of the remaining sticking points in negotiations on the US-Canada Mexico Agreement are between Mexico and the United States, and Canada is trying to narrow the gaps between the two sides, Mexico's chief negotiator Jesus Seade said during a working visit to Ottawa on Friday.
"Many of the issues are with Mexico," Seade told reporters prior to his meeting with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland, who is the lead Canadian negotiator.
The Mexico undersecretary for North America characterized Canada's contribution to the negotiations as very "constructive," adding that dialogue with Canada was "intensifying."
Negotiators from the three countries are trying to agree to last-minute revisions to the USMCA that would allow the deal to be put up for a vote by Democrats in the US House of Representatives by the end of this year. US Democrats are seeking revisions to the agreement that would address concerns over labor standards and other issues.
Seade said the ongoing process of revising the agreement would result in a better deal.
"What was a very good agreement for the three countries is getting to be much better. Many of the issues raised by the Democrats are very valid and what is coming out of it will be very good," he said.� "I think we are going to have instead of a very good agreement, an excellent agreement," Seade said.
The push for ratification has intensified in recent days, with only a few weeks remaining on the House of Representatives' schedule to ratify the agreement.
The urgency was on full display as the trade representatives from the US, Canada, and Mexico scheduled a bargaining session on the eve of Thanksgiving to discuss amendments to the USMCA that congressional Democrats would like to see before holding a ratification vote in the House.
Last week, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said that additional negotiations with Mexico and Canada would be needed to revise the USMCA trade deal with tougher enforcement mechanisms, particularly in regard to labor, environmental, and pharmaceutical issues.
So far, only Mexico has ratified the trade deal.
