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Trudeau says NAFTA negotiations stalled after Pence demanded sunset clause | TheHill

posted onJune 1, 2018
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Article snippet: Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Thursday that NAFTA negotiations with the U.S. broke down after Vice President Pence demanded that he agree in advance to a five-year "sunset" provision. Trudeau said at a news conference that he was prepared to travel to Washington this week to put the finishing touches on a reworked deal when he received a phone call from Pence, who insisted that any deal must expire after five years. "I got a call from Vice President Pence on Tuesday in which it was impressed upon me that there was precondition for us being able to get together — that Canada would accept a sunset clause for NAFTA," Trudeau said. "I had to highlight that there was no possibility of any Canadian prime minister signing a NAFTA deal that included a five-year sunset clause, and obviously the visit didn’t happen." A White House official told The Hill that the Trump administration "wanted clarity on" several issues, including a sunset clause, before U.S. officials met with Trudeau. The official said Trudeau initially talked to imposed stiff tariffs Thursday on steel and aluminum imports from Canada, the European Union and Mexico, prompting threats of retaliatory duties on U.S. goods.  Trudeau rebuked the U.S. tariffs following the announcement, insisting that Canada had no choice but to fight back. "We have to believe that at some point their common sense will prevail," he said. "But we see no sign of that in this action today by the U.S. administration... Link to the full article to read more

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