An advisor on trade development priorities to the Canadian federal government says that, even with all the drama, the 25-year-old North American Free Trade Agreement needed to be updated. Dennis Laycraft, who is also the Executive Vice President of the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association, said the world has changed a lot since NAFTA was signed back in 1992. An admitted optimist, Laycraft says there has to be an agreement made between Canada and the United States. First of the two biggest sticking issues includes the continued presence of an independent, disputes-resolution panel. The other big sticker is the U.S. demand for a Sunset Clause, which would force a NAFTA re-negotiation every five years. But now it looks like some headway was made on that front over the weekend. Mexico’s incoming trade negotiator said, on Saturday, that the U.S. has backed off of its demand. Even so Laycraft said he expects to see Canada back at the table soon. The current bi-lateral U.S. – Mexico round was focused largely on wage and labor issues. And on those discussions, Laycraft believes Canada did not need to be present.