Last week marked the one-year anniversary of U.S. President Donald Trump announcing that he was looking to modernize the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).

Dr. Paul Gunderson, based in North Dakota, is a councillor to the Central North American Trade Corridor Association.

He's hoping a new NAFTA deal can be worked out soon between the U.S., Canada, and Mexico.

"It's a miracle across the world, that's what's troubling some of us. We just don't want to see that destroyed. We've emerged by way of example as the strongest, multi-national economy across the globe."

He says while U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue is reassuring American farmers that their concerns are being heard, there seems to be conflicting messages being sent out.

"Statements have emerged out of, particularly the U.S. trade delegation that perhaps American agriculture is going to have to be the sacrificial lamb, so to speak, in order to execute a deal that is favourable to the auto industry and the electronics industry and those kinds of things."

Gunderson believes that type of strategy would "savagely backfire" for U.S. negotiators.