Even by the mind-boggling standard set by the past year in trade politics, it's been a confusing week.
Keep calm and carry on, Canada. Here's a quick guide to what really happened:
What's new for NAFTA?
Nothing, really. It's been a week of happy talk about speeding things up on all three sides, without any evidence of anyone removing the known barriers to a deal...
Have NAFTA talks resumed?
Sort of. Not really, though...
Has the threat of 25% car tariffs gone away?
The joint statement issued after European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker's trip to the White House said that so long as the U.S. was engaged in talks with the EU on their new joint trade agenda, neither side would do anything to "go against the spirit of this agreement, unless either party terminates the negotiations."...
Should Canada take this EU-U.S. deal seriously?
Trump's vocal braggadocio — his claim that Wednesday "was a very big day for free and fair trade" — isn't matched by the substance of the joint statement his officials co-wrote...
What's this meeting Canada's hosting?
Aside from de-escalating the car tariff threat, Juncker's biggest win in the joint statement may be the Americans agreeing to work with "like-minded partners" to reform the World Trade Organization and "address unfair trade practices."...
This was excerpted from the 28 July 2018 edition of CBC News.