By: DAVID LJUNGGREN
The current state of talks to update the NAFTA trade pact is creating uncertainty among businesses and could hurt investments and growth, Rio Tinto Aluminium (RIO.L) chief executive Alf Barrios said on Wednesday.
Canada and Mexico say several U.S. proposals for modernizing the North American Free Trade Agreement are unacceptable, prompting increasing concern that Washington could walk away from the trilateral deal.
Rio Tinto exports 75 percent of the aluminum produced at its Canadian plants to the United States and supplies 30 percent of that market’s needs, Barrios told an evening conference organized by the Canadian-American Business Council.