Unifor praises trade agreement

Canada’s largest private sector union, Unifor says the framework of the USMCA trilateral trade deal, between Canada, the U.S. and Mexico, makes positive gains for the Canadian auto sector.

"This framework delivers significant improvements in auto," said Unifor National President Jerry Dias, in a press release.. "Unifor called for increased rules of origin and higher wage thresholds in Mexico to rebalance auto manufacturing and stem the exodus of good paying jobs from Canada so we're pleased to see those issues addressed."

The new trade deal also contains a side letter that effectively exempts the auto sector from tariffs under Section 232.

"The threat of capricious auto tariffs has been lifted, stabilizing future investment," said Dias.

The union also welcomes the maintenance of the Chapter 19 and Canadian cultural protections, as well as improvements to energy and labour regulations.

In the coming days, Unifor says it will carefully review the language on key issues including dispute resolution mechanisms, media, and cultural rules, labour standards, and the supply management system, among others.

"Overall (the deal is) encouraging but there are many critical aspects to a trade agreement of this scope so we will be taking a very close look at the text to determine the full impact on Canadian workers and major export industries," Dias said.