Chief NAFTA negotiators to meet in December

The member countries of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) have confirmed a meeting between the chief negotiators of the three countries from December 11 to 15 in Washington, according to the Technical Secretary of the Room Next Door, Eugenio Salinas.

The private sector representative said they're about to close three chapters and that during the fifth round of the negotiations – to be held from November 17 to 21 – they would be replying to the proposals brought forward by the United States in the latest round.

He confirmed there's still no change regarding the unacceptable proposals, such as the Sunset clause of the agreement, the dissolution of the dispute settlement mechanism, and others.

According to Salinas, there's progress on 25% of the negotiating tables. However, even if there's been agreement on some of the issues (such as the small and medium enterprises), key topics are still deadlocked.

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