NAFTA unresolved, steel tariffs left hanging

Canada’s latest reprieve expires on Friday

WASHINGTON — Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland emerged Tuesday from meeting U.S. trade czar Robert Lighthizer with the threat of steel tariffs and uncertainty over NAFTA hovering in the dense, humid Washington air.

Freeland began her two-day visit to Washington with a twohour, face-to-face meeting inside the office of the U.S. Trade Representative, the site of intensive North American Free Trade Agreement talks over the last several weeks.

Freeland said she and Lighthizer would continue their discussion later in the day by telephone, but the clock is ticking against them.

Canada’s latest reprieve from potentially crippling U.S. tariffs on imports of steel and aluminum expires on Friday, and there are fears they could go into effect without a NAFTA deal in place, wreaking havoc on the continent’s economy.

Freeland insisted the steel issue remains separate from the renegotiation of NAFTA, a deal U.S. President Donald Trump has repeatedly blasted and threatened to rip up.

In the past, Freeland has said Canada wouldn’t take NAFTA’s demise lightly, and there will be consequences as well if Canada loses its steel and aluminum exemption on Friday, she warned.

“Our government always is very ready and very prepared to respond appropriately to every action. We are always prepared and ready to defend our workers and our industry,” she said.

“Canadian steel workers should absolutely know that the government of Canada has their back ... we are very clear in making the point, which I think frankly is common sense, that in no way could Canadian steel and aluminum pose a national security threat to the United States,” she added.

Mexico was not at Tuesday’s meeting.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has been talking by phone with Trump and Mexico’s Enrique Pena Nieto in recent days, despite dwindling hope of reaching a deal on updating the continental trade pact.

The three countries have been working around the clock in hopes of getting a deal in time for the current iteration of the U.S. Congress, and ahead of what’s expected to be a consequential election in Mexico July 1.

The rules surrounding autos remain a major sticking point.