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OTTAWA, Sept. 23 (Xinhua) -- The third round of North AmericaFree Trade Agreement (NAFTA) renegotiations started here onSaturday with attendance of chief negotiators from Canada, the U.S.and Mexico.

Canada's chief negotiator Steve Verhuel said he didn't expectthis round to see any new U.S. proposal to increase Americancontent requirements for autos.

Rules of origin of autos will be "a subject for discussion butwe're not expecting to see anything radically new at this point,"said Verheul.

Under NAFTA's current rules of origin, vehicles must have atleast 62.5 percent North American content to qualify for duty-freemovement between Canada, the U.S. and Mexico.

Concern has been mounting among trade experts that the year-enddeadline for the NAFTA will be impossible to meet if negotiatorsdon't start during this round to confront some of the mostcontentious issues, including the rules of origin of autos.

At the first round of negotiations in Washington last month,U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer pronounced that theNorth American content requirement must be raised and a specificAmerican content requirement must be added, along with a way toverify that content.

Last Thursday, U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross published acolumn in which he blasted NAFTA for allowing outside countries toprovide parts for vehicles that aren't covered by the contentrequirement.

Canada reportedly believes that resolving American concernsabout the exodus of automotive jobs to low-wage Mexico is the keyto staving off U.S. President Donald Trump's threat to rip upNAFTA.

A total of seven rounds of discussions are planned for the NAFTArenegotiations, with the first two rounds being held in Washingtonand Mexico City separately. Enditem