WHO’S ‘NAPPING ON NAFTA’?

WASHINGTON • Stephen Harper has come out against his successor’s handling of NAFTA negotiations with the United States, with the former prime minister declaring the negotiations in real peril in a memo titled, “Napping on NAFTA.”

The memo obtained by The Canadian Press criticizes the Trudeau government in several areas: For too quickly rejecting U.S. proposals, for insisting on negotiating alongside Mexico, and for promoting progressive priorities like labour, gender, aboriginal and environmental issues.

Harper says he was worried by what he heard during a recent trip to Washington. “I came back alarmed,” said the Oct. 25 letter signed by Harper, and sent to clients of his firm Harper & Associates.

“I fear that the NAFTA re-negotiation is going very badly. I also believe that President (Donald) Trump’s threat to terminate NAFTA is not a bluff … I believe this threat is real.

“Therefore, Canada’s government needs to get its head around this reality: it does not matter whether current American proposals are worse than what we have now. What matters in evaluating them is whether it is worth having a trade agreement with the Americans or not.”

“This is a gift to the Americans,” said one current Canadian official. “There’s nothing Wilbur Ross and Robert Lighthizer (from the Trump administration) want to see more than prominent Canadians standing up to suggest making concessions to the Americans.”

The memo accuses the Canadian government of stubbornness on several fronts. First, it suggests Canada has been too quick in rejecting American proposals as a “red line,” or “poison pill.” He said such knee-jerk refusals are only a viable strategy if you truly believe Trump cannot cancel NAFTA — an assessment Harper does not share.

Second, he suggests the government made a tactical error by co-operating too closely with Mexico. He says Trump campaigned on constant complaints about Mexico, not Canada.

“How did we get ourselves in this position? … The elephant is Mexico … In fact, the U.S. is both irked and mystified by the Liberals’ unwavering devotion to Mexico.”

Third, he criticizes the Liberals for pursuing their progressive trade policies: “Did anyone really think that the Liberals could somehow force the Trump administration into enacting their agenda — union power, climate change, aboriginal claims, gender issues?”

Finally, he accuses the Liberals of bungling other disputes over lumber and airplanes.