Make a deal with us, and I won't hit you with tariffs.

That was President Trump's message to Canada and Mexico Monday morning as all three countries began to conclude a round of NAFTA negotiations in Mexico City.

"US stocks rallied on Monday (5 March 2018) as fears of a global trade war ebbed with investors betting that Donald Trump would back down on his threat to impose hefty tariffs on steel and aluminium imports. Investors started to eye Trump's threat as a negotiating tool after he tweeted that Canada and Mexico could avoid his proposed tariffs if they ceded ground in the NAFTA talks."

But the latest round of talks to revamp the North American Free Trade Agreement concluded without a joint written statement from the United States, Canada and Mexico, like the last round, two sources with knowledge of the matter said on Monday.

Canadian Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland, Mexican Economy Minister Ildefonso Guajardo and U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer are due to make separate statements to the media at a joint event later on Monday, the sources said.

LATEST

Donald Trump says he won't back down on plan to impose steel, aluminium tariffs despite Republican protests

United States President Donald Trump has insisted he is "not backing down" on his plan to impose stiff tariffs on imported steel and aluminium, despite anxious warnings from House Speaker Paul Ryan and other congressional Republicans of a possible trade war.