Freeland postpones UN speech
Canadian trade minister Chrystia Freeland was set to deliver a speech today but it was postponed with NAFTA negotiations said to be optimistic a deal can be reached today or Sunday.
Bloomberg, citing people familiar, said a deal could be wrapped up within hours with the US planning to publish a full legal text before Monday in order to meet a Dec 1 Mexican deadline.
"The U.S. and Canada are on the brink of a deal after making progress on contentious issues, the people said, speaking on condition of anonymity as negotiations continue. While there's no guarantee that a final agreement will be reached, no issue at this point is too large to overcome, they said," Bloomberg reports.
A separate report from the Globe & Mail says Canada was prepared to make significant concessions on dairy in order to preserve the Chapter 19 dispute resolution mechanism and to get a guarantee not to impose tariffs.
The Canadian dollar dropped on Friday and finished at the best levels of the day on reports Mexico was insisting on a trilateral deal.
Expect another jump in the loonie (along with MXN) when the FX market reopens.
