By William Mauldin 

President Trump's trade czar said the U.S. and Mexico are ready to leave Canada behind in the North American Free Trade Agreement -- and move ahead with a new version of the deal in days.

"There is still a fair amount of distance between us," U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer said Tuesday of Canada at a conference in New York. "If Canada comes along later, then that's what will happen, " he said

The Trump administration last month announced it had resolved differences with Mexico on a new version of Nafta, and it sent Congress formal notice of intent to sign a deal -- with or without Canada -- in late November, before Mexico's new president takes office.

Canadian Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland's office didn't immediately reply to a request for comment on the U.S. Nafta plans or the status of talks.

Some U.S. lawmakers and business groups have warned they oppose moving forward with a bilateral deal that excludes Canada. Still, Mr. Lighthizer pointed toward pressure from U.S. dairy producers and others to improve trade conditions with the U.S. northern neighbor.

"Canada's not making concessions in areas we think are essential," Mr. Lighthizer said Tuesday, adding that "Canada would like to be in the agreement."

Mr. Trump was elected with a promise to renegotiate Nafta to help American workers -- or withdraw from the agreement entirely. Since then, administration officials have pursued a tough negotiating approach designed to wring concessions from Ottawa and Mexico City.

Tensions have remained high between Canada and the U.S. Mr. Trump used Twitter to attack Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in June following the Group of Seven summit in Quebec. The two leaders aren't scheduled to have a bilateral meeting this week at the United Nations General Assembly, but aides don't reject the idea that they could speak during the event.

Nafta talks have already missed several deadlines, but Mr. Lighthizer said he is seeking to move ahead with the Mexico deal so it can be signed before Andrés Manuel López Obrador, the country's president-elect, takes office in December.

Under U.S. law, the text of a trade agreement must be published at least 60 days before it is signed. That requirement means Mr. Lighthizer needs to release the details of the deal with Mexico -- or possibly a trilateral deal including Canada -- in coming days, according to congressional aides and trade experts.

If the signing occurs after the new Mexican president is sworn in, "we have a new negotiation with López Obrador, and we don't know where that would go there at all," Mr. Lighthizer said at the annual summit sponsored by Concordia, a nonprofit organization that seeks social change.

Complicating the negotiations with U.S. neighbors are the tariffs that Mr. Trump imposed on imported steel and aluminum on national-security grounds, as well as a threat to put duties on cars and auto-part imports.

Mr. Lighthizer said Mexico and Canada "clearly" want to be excluded from any auto-industry tariffs, but he said negotiations on lifting the metals duties would come in the next stage of trade talks, following the new Nafta deal.

Write to William Mauldin at william.mauldin@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

September 25, 2018 14:12 ET (18:12 GMT)