Ministers from the United States, Canada and Mexico meet on Monday to wrap up the latest round of NAFTA talks under the shadow of U.S. President Donald Trump’s proposed steep tariffs on steel and aluminum imports.

Trump is expected to finalize the tariffs - 25 percent on steel and 10 percent on aluminum - later in the week, posing a tough challenge for U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer, Canada’s Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland and Mexican Economy Minister Ildefonso Guajardo.

But ahead of the talks, Trump appeared to tie possible exemptions for the United States’ two neighbors to a“new” NAFTA deal as well as other steps.

“We have large trade deficits with Mexico and Canada. NAFTA, which is under renegotiation right now, has been a bad deal for U.S.A. Massive relocation of companies & jobs. Tariffs on Steel and Aluminum will only come off if new & fair NAFTA agreement is signed,” Trump, a Republican, said in a tweet on Monday.

This was excerpted from the 5 March 2018 edition of Reuters Canada.