Source: POLITICO'S MORNING AGRICULTURE, 1/30/18

As the sixth round of trade discussions ended on Monday, U.S Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer expressed some aggravation about the halting headway, and he rejected some proposals Canada made. But he remained hopeful that this latest round at least made a "step forward" and started conversations about "some of the core issues," reported Pro Trade's Doug Palmer and Adam Behsudi. 

What was accomplished: Lighthizer, who bluntly noted that talks have been "progressing very slowly," seemed positive about how negotiators completed a chapter on anti-corruption. Mexican Economy Secretary Ildefonso Guajardo said chapters on food-safety measures, digital trade and telecommunications were about 90 percent complete, and there would be a strong effort to close them during the seventh round in Mexico City. 

What's up with seasonal produce talks? Little movement has been made on the produce proposal, which both Canada and Mexico oppose because it makes it easier for growers to argue that Mexico is selling produce at uncompetitively low prices when crops like avocados and strawberries are in season in a particular region. "The topic of seasonality wasn't tackled directly beyond us reiterating that for Mexico the proposal is a complete non-starter," Guajardo told reporters.

All in the timing: The plodding nature of the talks has led some trade policy experts to predict that the negotiations could stretch into 2019. But Lighthizer, a self-describe curmudgeon, said it was encouraging that Canada and Mexico were "starting to realize that we have to begin to talk." 

The boss chimes in: President Donald Trump said that tonight's State of the Union would be "a very important speech on trade" according to pool reports. "The world has taken advantage of us on trade for many years, and, as you probably noticed, we're stopping that, and we're stopping it cold," Trump told reporters.