Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said talks to revamp NAFTA could drag on for months, even as negotiators step up the pace of discussions to reach an agreement as soon as this month.

With negotiations to modernize NAFTA coming to a head, Texas Republican Ted Cruz and some of his conservative Senate allies have been pushing the Trump administration to use the trade pact as a way of getting around Democratic objections to the GOP’s broader deregulation agenda.

The United States and its NAFTA partners are stepping up efforts to reach a tentative deal in the coming days — with one Mexican minister saying a pact is “reasonably close” while the United States prepares for talks with China.

With critical political deadlines fast approaching, the Trump administration is racing to strike a deal on a revamped North American Free Trade Agreement by early May — with an eye toward forcing a congressional vote on a new pact by the end of the year.

NAFTA negotiators are said to have wrapped up another chapter of the deal as the three ministers leading talks meet again in Washington amid a push for a deal in principle within weeks.

President Donald Trump’s push for a quick resolution to NAFTA talks is being stymied by persistent differences among the United States, Canada and Mexico over a handful of the make-or-break issues.

Donald Trump says he’s willing to “renegotiate forever” on NAFTA, a threat that comes as his trade office again softens its marquee demand for changes to the auto sector.

Mexican Economy Minister Ildefonso Guajardo lowered expectations that the three NAFTA nations will reach an initial deal the week of April 9, saying instead he sees an 80% chance of an agreement by the first week of May.

Senior ministers from the three NAFTA countries are gathering in Washington amid growing signs of optimism that they could find common ground on the toughest issues.

Ford Motor Co., the largest producer of cars and trucks in the United States, remains concerned about major modifications to the North American Free Trade Agreement, even after President Donald Trump’s negotiators were said to have softened demands.