The U.S. and Canada reached a last-minute trade agreement late Sunday night to revamp the North American Free Trade Agreement, allowing leaders from those nations and Mexico to sign the pact by late November.

The tentative deal, which comes after nearly 14 months of negotiations to renegotiate the 24-year-old NAFTA, paves way for the U.S. to gain more access to Canada’s dairy market and maintains the contentious Chapter 19 dispute resolution mechanism.

Read the full text of the new trade pact here

Below, BNN Bloomberg guests share their thoughts on the new deal.

 

Having Canada as a trade partner 'the most important thing': Former Mexican foreign minister

Andrés Rozental, former Mexican deputy foreign minister, joins BNN Bloomberg to weigh in on the new trade deal struck by Canada, the U.S. and Mexico.

“I think for Mexico, having Canada as a partner in this agreement is probably the most important thing that was achieved yesterday…The fact that Canada and Mexico now have this linkage in the new agreement is extremely important.”

-Andres Rozental, former Mexican deputy foreign minister

 

Trade deal limited without metals tariffs resolution: Canadian American Business Council

Maryscott Greenwood, CEO of the Canadian American Business Council, joins BNN Bloomberg to weigh in on the new trade deal struck by Canada, the U.S. and Mexico and how the business community is viewing it.

“For a majority of the economic relationship, for most of what NAFTA covers, this is a pretty good day for all three countries.”

-Maryscott Greenwood, CEO, Canadian American Business Council

 

Canada 'overpaid' on dairy concessions to save Chapter 19: Trade lawyer

Mark Warner, principal at MAAW Law, joins BNN Bloomberg's Jon Erlichman and Jameson Berkow, as well as CTV News' Michel Boyer, to discuss the new trilateral trade deal between Canada, the U.S. and Mexico.

“I think the surprise to me in this agreement last night is that it seems to me we’ve overpaid a little bit on dairy in order to save Chapter 19. I think that’s really the headline here … I think it’s basically bending in the face of reality.  There was just no way Canada was going to get to keep Chapter 19 without making a major and significant concession, which is what it did.”

-Mark Warner, principal, MAAW Law  

 

New trade agreement a win-win: Trade lawyer

Trade lawyer Larry Herman of Herman & Associates explains why he is happily surprised by the trade deal reached between the U.S. and Canada.

“I think it looks pretty good from what we know and what we’ve seen. It’s a complex agreement, but I think that it came out better than many of us had expected. I have to admit, I was pessimistic that we would get this kind of outcome. But I it looks pretty good, and I think the market is reacting accordingly. There’s more stability now in the system, and that’s a plus for Canada.”

-Lawrence Herman, trade lawyer, Herman & Associates

“I always get nervous when a 14-month process goes down literally to the 11th hour – that worries me a little bit. It seems like they’ve been able to keep some protections for our dairy market which is good… Overall, I’m glad to see something is done, the markets will obviously reflect that. It’s good to see something finally get put up on a win column.”

-Jeff Hull, senior financial advisor, Manulife Securities Inc.

 

'Patience has paid off': Unifor president on new trade deal

Jerry Dias, national president at Unifor, joins BNN Bloomberg to provide reaction the new tentative trade deal reached between Canada and the U.S., and what it means for the auto industry.

“[Canadian auto workers] should be absolutely thrilled. I think it’s fair to say that the auto industry in Canada is alive and well and will be thriving for generations to come. So I am quite pleased this morning with what we were able to accomplish at the bargaining table.”

-Jerry Dias, national president, Unifor