The officials said progress is being made in identifying areas of the 14-year-old North American Free Trade Agreement that need to be updated to promote trade in specific industrial sectors, such as swine, steel, consumer electronics and chemicals.
They also voiced support for the concept of "cumulation of origin" in determining where a product that uses parts from different countries is made in order to keep North America goods competitive.
"As a living document we are always looking for ways to make it work better," US Trade Representative Susan Schwab said after meeting with Canadian Trade Minister David Emerson, and Mexican Secretary of Economy Eduardo Sojo.
The trade officials meet annually as the Commission of the North American Free Trade Agreement, which has governed trade between the three countries since 1993.
NAFTA has come under fire from some Democratic Party candidates in the US presidential race, but the three officials dismissed the idea that the deal should be reopened for major overhaul.
Emerson said scrapping NAFTA would hurt all three countries economically by disrupting trade, and its current provisions on issues such as labor and the environment have served as a model in Canada's trade relations with other countries.
"I do not see any particular or compelling reason to open up NAFTA," Emerson said.
The Vancouver meeting comes one week before a scheduled North American summit in Montebello, Quebec, of Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper, US President George Bush and Mexican President Felipe Calderon.
Schwab said the three national leaders were expected to renew calls for progress in upcoming World Trade Organization talks on liberalizing global trade rules.
"Canada, Mexico and the United States have all three been in the forefront of seeking an ambitious and balanced successful outcome to the Doha Round," Schwab said.
The trade officials said they also discussed the general issue of trade with countries outside NAFTA, but did not deal with specific issues such as growing public worry over the safety of goods imported from China. (Reuters)
