OTTAWA -- Canada has made a "great deal of progress" on reworking trade criteria on the automotive industry in NAFTA, and it could be crucial to the fate of the talks, says Rona Ambrose.
"A great deal of progress has been made, specifically around rules of origin for automotives and I think that bodes very -- very well -- for the negotiations," said Ambrose, a member of Canada鈥檚 NAFTA Advisory Council, on CTV's Question Period.
"The rules of origin around automotives and making more parts and cars in North America, has always been the sweet spot to get to Donald Trump. It鈥檚 a difficult part to get through, and if we can get through this, which it looks like we have, I think it鈥檚 a very good sign," she said.
She said that rules of origins for the automotive sector has been an important but challenging part of the ongoing renegotiation, and said it could be the key to assuring U.S. President Donald Trump walks away happy.
"If he can say, 'We've reached some kind of an agreement or framework where we can build more cars, build more American parts in North America, in the United States,' that鈥檚 a great sign to his voters about more jobs," Ambrose said.
Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland was in Washington, D.C., throughout the week to continue high-level talks, and elected to skip an important meeting with NATO allies in Brussels, leading some to wonder if a deal may be imminent.
Freeland has previously said that auto rules would be central to a successful deal.
Officials are set to continue working on the deal throughout this coming week, with Freeland and her fellow high-level officials reconvening days later to consider the state of the deal.
Though, Ambrose cautioned there are still contentious parts of the trade deal to work through.
The three countries have been engaged in talks to renegotiate the trilateral trade agreement for several months and the potentially complicating political deadlines of the U.S. midterm elections and Mexico鈥檚 presidential election campaign are nearing.
"I certainly believe we're closer than we've been in previous rounds," parliamentary secretary for Canada-U.S. relations Andrew Leslie told reporters on Friday in Ottawa.
