No principle NAFTA deal - Reuters

Two Reuter's sources have stated that there will not be a principle NAFTA deal on the books in time for the Americas Summit event later this week.

Key quotes (source: Reuters)

Talks to rework the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) are not advanced enough for the United States, Mexico and Canada to announce a deal “in principle” at this month’s Summit of the Americas in Lima, according to two people familiar with matter.

The ministers responsible for NAFTA met on Friday in Washington, and said progress had been made on reworking the accord. But there was still too much to do unveil an agreement at the April 13-14 summit, the sources said, speaking on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the matter.

The ministers responsible for NAFTA met on Friday in Washington, and said progress had been made on reworking the accord.

But there was still too much to do unveil an agreement at the April 13-14 summit, the sources said, speaking on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the matter.

An agreement in principle could not be a partial deal, and would need to contain “everything defined in black and white” before it was reached, one of the sources said. It could not leave key issues open for discussion afterward, the source added.

However, with the Trump administration embarking on a tariff conflict with China, officials say Washington is now in a hurry to reach a deal over NAFTA before the current Congress ends. The United States holds mid-term congressional elections in November.