NAFTA deal will get done, Morneau tells Business

‘I’m always cautiously optimistic, but I will say ... there’s more work to be done.’

WINDSOR, ONT. Finance Minister Bill Morneau offered nervous business leaders reassurances about the state of NAFTA negotiations, saying he is “cautiously optimistic” a deal will be reached in the near future.

Morneau met with the Windsor-essex Regional Chamber of Commerce and toured the Fiat Chrysler Automobiles Windsor assembly plant on Monday as part of a series of meetings to discuss Canadian competitiveness.

While a range of topics were touched upon, ending the uncertainty surrounding NAFTA discussions appeared to be the key focus of the discussions between Morneau and several business leaders in Windsor, a city synonymous with and highly dependent on the success of the Canadian automotive industry.

“It’s not surprising that many business leaders that I spoke to this morning were advocates for moving as fast as we can with NAFTA,” Morneau told reporters after afternoon meetings at the Chamber. “We recognize that Canadians and Canadian businesses are impacted so it reinforces our resolve, which has always been strong to get a renewed and improved NAFTA.”

While Morneau said that Canadian negotiators are prepared to get back to the table for NAFTA discussions, there are still key gaps that need to be closed.

“We need to see the progress that was happening over the last couple of weeks come to fruition,” he said.

“We also need to step forward and make sure that the deal works to the benefit ... of all three countries. I’m always cautiously optimistic, but I will say that there is more work to be done.”

Morneau’s statement comes three days after U.S. President Donald Trump renewed his threat to impose hefty tariffs on U.S. imports of vehicles and auto parts — a move that experts agree could devastate the Canadian economy, particularly in Ontario, where the auto industry is concentrated.

Bilateral NAFTA negotiations between the U.S. and Mexico have been progressing in recent weeks, but Canada has yet to engage in discussions this summer. Some observers raised concerns about Canada’s absence from the recent negotiations, but officials have insisted the federal government hasn’t been sidelined.

In a tweet alluding to the ongoing NAFTA negotiations, Trump said that the “deal with Mexico is coming along nicely” and that autoworkers “must be taken care of or there will be no deal.”

“Canada must wait,” Trump tweeted. “Their Tariffs and Trade Barriers are far too high. Will tax cars if we can’t make a deal!”

Earlier in the day, Quebec’s chief NAFTA negotiator said the Trump administration doesn’t have the legal authority to side-swipe Canada and sign a bilateral trade deal with Mexico. Raymond Bachand, an ex- Quebec finance minister, said “there is no worry whatsoever” the current one-on-one talks between the U.S. and Mexico will end in a trade deal signed without Canada.

The president has also said he would be interested in signing separate deals with both countries. Even if Trump really wanted that, Bachand said, he couldn’t get it.

“If the U.S. wanted a bilateral deal — and they don’t, they’ve repeated often they want a trilateral deal — they don’t have legal authority, Bachand said at a two-day annual conference in Stowe, Vt., between governors of New England states and the premiers of Quebec and the eastern Canadian provinces.

“They have the authority from Congress to negotiate a trilateral NAFTA deal in a fast-track way — meaning Congress votes yes or no on the final deal once it’s been reached. They don’t have that (fast-track) authority for a bilateral deal.”

When asked about Trump’s renewed threat, Morneau said “we are working hard to make sure that we’re prepared for continuing dis- cussions around NAFTA.”

He also repeated warnings that tariffs would harm citizens in both Canada and the United States.

“In particular, we don’t think that the Section 232 (security clause) has any implications for Canada so we do not believe that there is any reasonable grounds for any sort of auto tariff,” Morneau said, adding that the government would be prepared for a “measure” and “proportionate” response in the event that tariffs come into effect.

Windsor Mayor Drew Dilkens, who met with Morneau after the discussions at the Chamber, said that he felt “reassured” about the progress of negotiations and that Morneau told him he was “not surprised” that the U.S. opted to work with Mexico first.

“They are understand that people in this community are unsure of what’s going to happen, and that there is obviously a fear that comes with that uncertainty,” Dilkens said. “I did leave the meeting with a sense of optimism that there is a path, there is a strategy, that they are concerned about the future as well, that they want to make sure that it’s done and it’s done right.”

We also need to step forward and make sure that the deal works to the benefit ... of all three countries. BILL MORNEAU, Finance Minister