Trade negotiators from Canada, Mexico, and the United States finished work on three more chapters of an updated North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) during their seventh round of talks in Mexico City. Their ministers warned, however, that many challenging decisions remain before they can conclude a full NAFTA deal. The latest round of talks concluded on 5 March and did not feature a trilateral statement from ministers, unlike some of the prior rounds. The negotiations to modernise NAFTA began in August last year with the initial goal of finishing them in 2017, with officials later revising that timeframe. During the closing press conference in the Mexican capital on Monday, ministers welcomed the completion of those three chapters, which involved good regulatory practices, publication and administration, and sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) measures, as well as annexes on chemicals and proprietary food formulas. Together with the previously closed chapters on competition, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), and anti-corruption, NAFTA negotiators now have six completed chapters. “These chapters are important and provide further evidence that all three countries want to upgrade and modernise NAFTA,” said US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer. He qualified that statement, however, by indicating that the final deal will...