Canada PM aims to sign EU trade deal before U.S. does

OTTAWA, March 14 (Reuters) - Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper said it would be advantageous for his country to sign a free trade agreement with the European Union before Washington does, but said there were still important issues to resolve in the talks.

"Personally, I think it's advantageous for us to sign an accord before the United States does and I also think it's important to have such success in North America before really launching a discussion, which will be in my opinion difficult, with the U.S.," Harper told reporters after a meeting with French Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault.

Ayrault said the final text of a Canada-EU deal would likely form the basis for negotiations between Europe and the United States.

(Reporting by Randall Palmer and Louise Egan; Editing by Vicki Allen)