Both countries have hit back at the U.S. with their own tariffs

Now they put their noses to the grindstone and get back to the North American Free Trade Agreement. But it is shaping up to be a complicated, uphill slog.

Mexico and Canada have renewed their commitment to the bare-knuckled NAFTA renegotiation after absorbing the blow of the Trump administration's decision to impose potentially debilitating new tariffs on steel and aluminum imports.

The dragging on of the NAFTA talks was a key reason behind the U.S. move to target Canada and Mexico, but given the importance of that trade agreement to the continent's economy, neither U.S. neighbour was deterred.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto made their commitment in a Thursday phone call, following Trump's decision not to exempt their countries from import duties of 25 per cent on steel and 10 per cent on aluminum.

Canada retaliated with $16.6 billion worth of "countermeasures" that hit a range of products from flat-rolled steel to playing cards, while Mexico also plans tariffs on a variety of U.S. products, including flat steel...

This was excerpted from the 31 May 2018 edition of CBC News.