Robert Lighthizer, U.S. Trade Representative. Photo: Office of the President

And the tough talk continued on Day One. Robert Lighthizer, the U.S. Trade Representative, said, “We cannot ignore the huge trade deficits, the lost manufacturing jobs, the businesses that have closed or moved…. We feel that NAFTA has fundamentally failed many many Americans and needs major improvement.”But some experts say the deal isn’t likely to undergo radical changes.

Colin Robertson, vice president and fellow at the Canadian Global Affairs Institute, thinks NAFTA will get a few updates, but mostly remain the same.

And he says while Lighthizer may talk a big game in public, things might not be so dramatic behind the scenes.

“Within the negotiating tables themselves, is there drama? Not usually,” Robertson said. “Because remember, this is all behind closed doors, these are professional negotiators, they know each other. We’ve just been through the Trans Pacific Partnership talks. Yes, that agreement was put on ice but that will be – a lot of the content of that will be the base. And the Americans have said that already – that they’re going to be taking a lot of the language from the Trans Pacific Partnership and they’ll be bringing that into the negotiating table as the kind of starting point.”

There are major disputes over lumber, dairy, manufacturing, and other areas.

The renegotiation talks continue for the next several months.