Edmonton Journal

SHIFT IN THE TRADE WINDS

FROM WASHINGTON, TRUDEAU, HARPER BOTH SAY NAFTA FUTURE IN JEOPARDY

- stephanie levitz in Washington

For the first time, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is acknowledg­ing that the North American Free Trade Agreement could be in trouble. Trudeau wrapped up his visit to Washington on Wednesday by saying that he continues to believe that renegotiat­ing and renewing NAFTA is the best option for all three countries. However, he suggested — repeatedly — that the federal Liberal government is bracing for the worst.

“It is very important and very possible to get a win-win-win ... out of these negotiatio­ns,” Trudeau told a news conference on the roof of the Canadian Embassy. “So saying, I think it’s been clear that circumstan­ces are often challengin­g, and we have to be ready for anything — and we are.

“We’re taking this very seriously and we’re taking the importance of standing up for Canadian jobs and Canadian economic growth very seriously, and that goes (for) every economic engagement we have with the Americans.”

Trudeau wasn’t the only one sounding gloomy on the outcome.

Donald Trump could well decide to cancel NAFTA, Stephen Harper warned Wednesday as the former prime minister ended his public silence on current events by describing anti-trade sentiment in the U.S. as an intractabl­e, long-term problem with no easy fix.

Harper stepped into the role of political analyst during a panel discussion in Washington.

Powerful anti-trade forces that predate Trump’s presidency are at play in American society and aren’t going away anytime soon, said the former Conservati­ve leader, who’s known as an ardent free trader.

He recalled being told by the Bush administra­tion when he took office in 2006 that NAFTA would never have won a vote in the U.S. Congress at the time. He described how Barack Obama campaigned against the deal. He believes trade will remain controvers­ial, whether or not Trump cancels NAFTA, which he thinks could happen.

He said he is advising companies to start planning for the possibilit­y of a world without NAFTA.

“I believe that it is conceivabl­e. I believe Donald Trump would be willing to take the economic and political risk of that under certain circumstan­ces,” Harper said.

“I would not want to simply bet that this is just all going to work out. What’s driving this are some very powerful political currents that, frankly, nobody — including Mr. Trump — has really figured out how to address, and they’re going to keep coming at us.”

During Trudeau’s earlier visit to the White House, the prime minister listened intently as the U.S. president hinted at the possibilit­y of a free trade deal directly with Canada, should the ongoing talks collapse.

But Trump also said it’s too early to give up on the negotiatio­ns, which resumed Wednesday in Alexandria, Va., with negotiator­s from Canada, the U.S. and Mexico.

“It’s possible we won’t be able to reach a deal with one or the other,” Trump said, a poker-faced Trudeau seated at his side. “In the meantime, we’ll make a deal with one, but I think we have a chance to do something very creative that’s good for Canada, Mexico and the United States.”

It’s no secret that the president is not a fan of NAFTA, but Wednesday’s remarks suggested he’s open to the possibilit­y of a bilateral trade deal with Canada. “We’ll see what happens, we have a tough negotiatio­n.”

It wasn’t clear whether the change in the prime minister’s NAFTA message was a direct result of his meeting with the U.S. president, someone he acknowledg­ed “makes decisions that surprise people sometimes.” But repeating the “ready for anything” sentiment multiple times suggests a conscious decision to acknowledg­e that the outcome of the talks may not go Canada’s way.

“I continue to believe in NAFTA; I continue to believe that as a continent working together in complement­ary ways is better for our citizens and better for economic growth, and allows us to compete on a stronger footing with the global economy,” Trudeau said.

There have been early but unmistakab­le signs of trouble in the talks, with big business groups expressing fear the quarter-century-old deal could disappear.

Earlier Wednesday, Trudeau held discussion­s with the House of Representa­tives’ influentia­l Ways and Means committee, one of two bodies of U.S. lawmakers that are helping negotiator­s put forward the U.S. positions on trade.

He joined the committee to warm applause and expression­s of optimism about the deal from both the committee’s Republican chair and the ranking Democrat member.

The committee is dedicated to making sure the negotiatio­ns are successful, said Rep. Kevin Brady, the committee chair, who asked for Trudeau’s help in keeping an open mind.

“We all want this agreement to be a model for future trade deals,” Brady said.

The latest round of NAFTA talks kicked off with a discussion of government procuremen­t, already a thorny subject — U.S. negotiator­s suggested during the last round in Ottawa that they want to limit Canadian and Mexican access to U.S. projects.

From there, discussion­s are scheduled to move onto developing remedies for trade disputes, as well as the contentiou­s issue of agricultur­e.

 ?? CHIP SOMODEVILL­A / GETTY IMAGES ?? Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and U.S. President Donald Trump meet for talks at the White House on Wednesday. The U.S., Canada and Mexico are engaged in renegotiat­ing the 25-year-old North American Free Trade Agreement.
CHIP SOMODEVILL­A / GETTY IMAGES Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and U.S. President Donald Trump meet for talks at the White House on Wednesday. The U.S., Canada and Mexico are engaged in renegotiat­ing the 25-year-old North American Free Trade Agreement.
 ?? PABLO MARTINEZ MONSIVAIS / THE ASSOCIATED PRESS ?? U.S. first lady Melania Trump welcomes Sophie Gregoire Trudeau to the White House on Wednesday, as their husbands, U.S. President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, met to discuss trade.
PABLO MARTINEZ MONSIVAIS / THE ASSOCIATED PRESS U.S. first lady Melania Trump welcomes Sophie Gregoire Trudeau to the White House on Wednesday, as their husbands, U.S. President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, met to discuss trade.

Newspapers in English

Newspapers from Canada