This week U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer welcomed Canadian Minister of Foreign Affairs Chrystia Freeland and Mexican Secretary of Economy Ildefonso Guajardo to Washington for a ministers meeting to discuss ongoing NAFTA negotiations. Previously, NAFTA parties had been attempting to schedule an eighth round of negotiations. However, this week’s meeting of ministers is seen as a substitute for the next round of talks and a potential indication that a negotiated agreement could be near completion. Many analysts believe that May 1 is a likely deadline for the negotiating process as Mexican presidential elections approach and the timelines for passage through the U.S. Congress narrows.