U.S. and Mexican officials postponed ministerial talks aiming for a breakthrough in the revamp of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) until today, although one member of the incoming Mexican government met U.S. officials yesterday.

Since restarting last month, the talks have focused on ironing out differences between Mexico and the United States which cut to the heart of U.S. President Donald Trump’s complaint that NAFTA has hollowed out U.S. manufacturing to Mexico’s benefit.

Trump has threatened to withdraw from the 24-year-old accord if it is not reworked to his satisfaction. He hopes he can reduce the U.S. trade deficit with lower-cost Mexico and claw back jobs, particularly in the automotive industry.

Canada has been waiting for the Mexican and U.S. teams to reach common ground on autos before rejoining the negotiation.

U.S. and Mexican officials say they will push for a deal on reworking auto industry rules that could open the door for Canada to return to negotiations soon.

Ministerial talks were expected yesterday, but Mexico’s top trade official, Economy Minister Ildefonso Guajardo, would not meet with U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer in Washington until today.

But Jesus Seade, designated chief negotiator of Mexican President-elect Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, who is due to take power in December, met Lighthizer whom he has known for years.

Entering talks, Seade said the teams were making “good progress” and “coming to the end” of their discussions. He expected bilateral issues to be resolved by early next week. (SD-Agencies)