Leaders of auto, aluminum and farm interest groups are all pushing for the Section 232 steel and aluminum tariffs to be lifted on Canada and Mexico, as the administration said would happen once NAFTA was renegotiated. But none of the groups will make their support for the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement contingent on the tariffs being lifted.

The Council of the European Union passed its negotiating directives for free trade talks with the U.S. on Jan. 18, and as expected, agriculture is not part of the scope. The EU also said it would require the lifting of the Section 232 tariffs on aluminum and steel before any deal is finalized. "These two proposed negotiating directives will enable the Commission to work on removing tariffs and non-tariff barriers to transatlantic trade in industrial goods, key goals of the July Joint Statement," EU Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom said.