MEXICO CITY : Trading Ideas

Talks on labor and environmental aspects of the North American Free Trade Agreement will continue Thursday, under the cloud of last week’s U.S. court ruling that could delay the trade pact indefinitely.

U.S., Mexican and Canadian negotiators will once again try to resolve the thorny issue of how to assure that companies do not violate national labor and environmental laws in order to gain a competitive advantage once tariffs are eliminated among the three nations. One sticking point is how much power to give proposed joint commissions that will enforce the laws.

Any agreement could be moot because of last week’s court decision requiring the U.S. government to prepare a full report on the environmental impact of the trade pact. Preparing such a report could take months or years.