ARLINGTON, Virginia: Negotiators from Canada and Mexico grappled with US demands to drastically alter the North American Free Trade Agreement on Saturday, as talks over renewal of the pact vilified by President Donald Trump ran through a fourth straight day.
Some downcast participants said the demands, unveiled this week in line with Trump’s “America First” agenda, have increased the odds of NAFTA’s demise. At the very least, they could make it impossible to reach a deal renewing the treaty before a year-end deadline.
“The atmosphere is complicated,” one trade official told reporters, adding that his fears about some “pretty harsh, pretty horrible” demands from the US side of the negotiating table were coming true.
Speaking on condition of anonymity because the talks are confidential, the official added the US stance “has a clear protectionist bias, a bias that is trying to eradicate, minimize, eliminate the mechanisms that existed in NAFTA in the last 20 years.”
Trump, who blamed NAFTA for shifting US manufacturing jobs to Mexico during his election campaign last year, has repeatedly vowed to scrap the treaty unless it can be renegotiated on more favorable terms.
At the mid-point of seven scheduled negotiating rounds, many of the US proposals appear aimed at turning back the clock on changes in the global economy since NAFTA took effect 23 years ago. Collapse of the deal could reverberate well beyond North America, where trade between the United States, Canada and Mexico has more than quadrupled since 1994.
Former Mexican Trade Minister Jaime Serra, who was responsible for negotiating the original trade pact, said there was no economic logic to the US demands.
“Issues are being put on the table that are practically absurd,” he told Reuters. “I don’t know if these are poison pills, or whether it’s a negotiating position or whether they really believe they’re putting forward sensible things.”
Some officials from NAFTA governments said they knew all along the negotiations would be tough, but vowed to soldier on through the three remaining scheduled rounds of talks.
“We said from the beginning that this was never going to be easy,” Canadian Trade Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne told CBC radio. “We want to be at the table, be constructive, offering alternative proposals.”
One of the US proposals unveiled this week would require that 50 percent of the value of all NAFTA-produced cars, trucks and large engines come from the United States, people briefed on the negotiations said.
The same proposal calls for a sharp increase in NAFTA’s regional automotive content requirement, boosting it to 85 percent from the current 62.5 percent. The existing level is already the highest local content requirement of any trading bloc in the world.
Meanwhile, the Trump administration’s call for a so-called NAFTA sunset clause would effectively trigger a renegotiation of the pact every five years. Serra said the US content requirements would distort NAFTA trade with “pure protectionism” while the sunset clause would choke off investment decisions with uncertainty.
US negotiators also want to end a trade dispute settlement system that has deterred US anti-dumping cases while erecting new protective barriers for seasonal fruit and vegetable growers. And though Canada and Mexico had sought more access to US government procurement contracts, they were met this week with a proposal that would effectively grant them less.
Even before the current round of negotiations got underway in a suburban Washington hotel, US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer said NAFTA was “lopsided” in favor of Mexico and Canada and needed major changes to rebalance it.
“The president has vowed to bring jobs and investment back to the United States,” Lighthizer said. “We will do no less.”
One of Lighthizer’s predecessors, Robert Zoellick, said he thought there was a 50-50 chance Trump would quit NAFTA.
“He’s trying to go back to make trade agreements fix the bilateral trade deficit. I don’t believe he can be successful in doing that,” Zoellick, now non-executive chairman of AllianceBernstein, told a banking conference in Washington on Saturday.
Grim reality of NAFTA talks sets in after tough US demands
Grim reality of NAFTA talks sets in after tough US demands
Dubai Financial Market reports $288.6m profit for 2025 - up 159%
RIYADH: Dubai Financial Market reported net profit before tax of 1.06 billion dirhams ($288.6 million) in 2025, up 159 percent from a year earlier.
The improved performance was driven by sustained confidence in Dubai’s capital markets and a year of heightened trading activity, with momentum continuing through the fourth quarter.
The results coincided with the exchange marking 25 years since its establishment in 2000, highlighting its evolution into a more globally connected and institutionally active marketplace, according to a report by the Emirates News Agency.
For the full year ending Dec. 31, total consolidated revenues rose to 1.28 billion dirhams, while earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization reached 1.13 billion dirhams, translating into an EBITDA margin of 88 percent.
The results come as Dubai pushes ahead with its D33 agenda to double the emirate’s economy by 2033 and deepen its position as a global financial hub.
The UAE central bank has pointed to solid capital markets momentum and low sovereign risk indicators in 2025, underscoring the confidence backdrop for higher trading activity.
Helal Al-Marri, chairman of DFM, said: “DFM’s performance in 2025 reflects the continued strength of Dubai’s capital markets and the confidence of global investors in the emirate’s economic vision.
“As we mark 25 years since the establishment of DFM, the exchange continues to play a central role within Dubai’s financial ecosystem, supporting transparency, liquidity, and long-term market development in line with the Dubai Economic Agenda D33.”
Fourth-quarter net profit before tax increased to 124.4 million dirhams from 110.6 million dirhams in the same period of 2024, reflecting sustained trading momentum toward year-end.
Market performance remained strong throughout the year, with the DFM General Index rising 17.2 percent and total market capitalization reaching 992 billion dirhams.
Average daily traded value climbed to 692 million dirhams, while total traded value amounted to 174 billion dirhams, marking the highest liquidity levels in more than a decade.
The average daily number of trades rose 31 percent year on year, driven by increased institutional and cross-border activity.
Hamed Ali, CEO of DFM and Nasdaq Dubai, said: “In 2025, DFM continued to build on the progress of recent years, supported by steady trading activity, growing international participation, and ongoing enhancements to our market infrastructure.”
He added: “Our focus throughout the year remained on improving market accessibility, supporting a broad range of investment activity, and ensuring the market continues to operate efficiently for both issuers and investors. As we mark 25 years of DFM, we remain committed to developing the market in line with Dubai’s long-term capital markets ambitions.”
Investor participation broadened further during the year, with 97,394 new participants joining the market, of which 84 percent were foreign.
Foreign investors accounted for 51 percent of total trading value, while institutional investors represented 71 percent of trading activity.
The total investor base reached 1.25 million, reinforcing DFM’s position as a destination for regional and international capital.
Capital-raising activity also expanded DFM’s sectoral footprint.
The exchange hosted Dubai Residential REIT, the region’s first publicly traded residential leasing real estate investment trust, which attracted subscriptions 26 times over and total demand of 56 billion dirhams.
It also saw the secondary public offering of Emirates Integrated Telecommunications Co., alongside the initial public offering of ALEC Holdings, the UAE’s largest construction-sector listing to date, which generated subscriptions of 30 billion dirhams, representing an oversubscription of 21 times.
Innovation and market development remained a focus in 2025, with the launch of a centralized securities lending and borrowing framework and further enhancements to digital platforms, including AI-enabled features on iVestor.
DFM also strengthened its international engagement through global roadshows and partnerships, including a memorandum of understanding with the Taiwan Stock Exchange aimed at supporting cross-border listings and investor outreach.
Looking ahead, the exchange said it remains focused on enhancing liquidity, expanding product offerings, and deepening global connectivity, supported by a strong financial position and a diversified investor base.
