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Food safety talk will be at end of round 7
Story Date: 2/28/2018
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Source: POLITICO'S MORNING AGRICULTURE, 2/27/18
Negotiators from the U.S., Canada and Mexico will leave discussions on the almost-complete chapters until the last days of the seventh round of NAFTA talks, according to an official schedule obtained by POLITICO, yours truly reports. Last month, Mexican Economy Minister Ildefonso Guajardo said those chapters - food safety, digital trade and telecommunications - were about 90 percent complete. The working group on sanitary and phyto-sanitary measures, which governs rules on food safety and animal and plant health, will meet on Sunday, March 4.
Other meetings of interest: Most of the groups will meet for two days, including those on labor, energy and environment. Agriculture also met for two days, Sunday and Monday.
Unexpected rules of origin change: Discussions on automotive rules of origin were postponed after the chief U.S. negotiator for that policy area left the round to return to Washington. The U.S. lead was headed back to the U.S. "for consultations" and talks on the subject would be rescheduled, a source told Pro Trade's Megan Cassella.
It's unclear whether the talks on rules of origin will resume in this round or be delayed until later next month, but the policy issue had been expected to be a major topic of discussion during the round.
The wrap up: The top trade officials - U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer, Guajardo and Canadian Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland - will meet on Monday, March 5.
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