‘Crazy’ to wait for Brexit to talk trade: U.K. envoy

• The British high commissioner to Canada says it would be “crazy” to wait until the U.K. has left the European Union before talking to Canada about a bilateral trade agreement, but formal negotiations can’t begin until after Brexit.

In an interview Friday, Susan le Jeune d’Allegeershecque — the first British woman to serve as chief envoy to Canada — said trade is one of the “really important things” Prime Minister Theresa May and Canadian counterpart Justin Trudeau will discuss during May’s visit to Ottawa Monday.

They will also discuss how they can work together to support Canadian aerospace giant Bombardier, a big employer in Northern Ireland, in a U.S. trade dispute with Boeing, le Jeune d’Allegeershecque said.

Asked whether May could make an announcement Monday that the U.K. is pursuing formal bilateral trade talks with Canada, the high commissioner said “no.”

“We can’t talk about a bilateral trade agreement with Canada until we’ve left the European Union,” she said. “Obviously we will talk, but what we’re not doing is negotiating, because we can’t.”

The U.K. wouldn’t be legally permitted to conclude any bilateral trade agreements before it leaves the EU in 2019, a decision prompted by a national referendum last year. But officials can start laying the groundwork for formal talks now.

“So it would be crazy to wait until we actually left to start talking,” she said. “So what the experts will be doing is setting the groundwork, making sure that everything is in place, talking about the transition of CETA into transitional arrangements so we don’t drop off a cliff on the day that we leave.”

Canada’s Comprehensive and Economic Trade Agreement with Europe, which was strongly supported by the U.K., comes into provisional effect next Thursday.

This will stay in place until Brexit and is expected to benefit the two countries’ commercial relationships and bring cheaper products to each other’s markets.

“I think you can talk about what both sides would want out of whatever comes afterwards and we both agree that what we’ve got now is great and that what we want to come afterwards is something which will preserve those benefits on both sides,” said le Jeune d’Allegeershecque.

She added in addition to closer business ties between the two countries, she’s looking forward to Canadian consumers getting to purchase more British cheddar, among other things, as CETA comes into effect — though she noted tariffs were already zero on whiskey. She said “cheap cheese is good for everybody.”

May’s visit Monday comes at “a really important moment,” le Jeune d’Allegeershecque said. She opined Canada is more present on the international stage now than it had been for a while. And the U.K. is trying to assert itself independently with the EU exit coming up, even as both countries’ relationship with the United States looms large. “My perspective: this is a moment to look at a historic, very close relationship, but take it up to the next level,” she said.

In a complaint to the U.S. Commerce Department earlier this summer, American aerospace company Boeing accused Quebec-based Bombardier of unfairly using government subsidies to dump aircraft into the U.S. market.

“We stand with Canada on this. Bombardier is a huge employer in Belfast,” said le Jeune d’Allegeershecque. “What is happening is really serious and it is really, potentially incredibly, damaging for the company everywhere and in Belfast too. So we are working really closely with the Canadian government to see what we can do to minimize the negative impacts of whatever might come out.”

The U.S. Commerce Department is expected to release initial findings Sept. 25.

May’s visit Monday coincides with the first fall sitting day of the Canadian House of Commons and could prevent the prime minister from making much time for the chamber.

In addition to spending “a lot of time” with Trudeau, le Jeune d’Allegeershecque said May will participate in a roundtable with Canadian business and an event related to the Invictus Games, annual sports championships for wounded, ill or injured military members.

The games were founded by Prince Harry and are taking place in Toronto later this month under his watch. U.S. first lady Melania Trump is also slated to attend.