Trudeau ‘ready for anything’ on trade talks
Trump offers mixed signals after meeting PM but ‘if we can’t make a deal, it’ll be terminated’
WASHINGTON— Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said he is optimistic but “ready for anything” as U.S. President Donald Trump conveyed mixed signals on the future of the North American Free Trade Agreement and Canadian negotiators prepared to be hit with a protectionist Trump proposal on automotive manufacturing.
Trump sounded indifferent Wednesday about the future of the continental pact, expressing no preference between a re- vised agreement or the termination he has long threatened.
“It’s possible we won’t be able to make a deal, and it’s possible that we will,” Trump said during the public portion of his Oval Office meeting with Trudeau.
“I think Justin understands that if we can’t make a deal, it’ll be terminated, and that’ll be fine,” he said. “They’re going to do well, we’re going to do well. But maybe that won’t be necessary.”
Trudeau was far more forceful, extolling NAFTA at the White House and at a meeting with influential members of Congress. With everyone from former prime minister Stephen Harper to the top American business lobby group warning that negotiations might collapse, Trudeau shooed away questions about the possibility of failure.
“My optimism towards NAFTA, towards a renegotiation, isn’t based on personality or reading political tea leaves. My optimism is based on the fact that I know how good NAFTA has been for millions of citizens of Canada, of the United States, and indeed for Mexico,” he said at a solo news conference at the Canadian embassy.
Trudeau also said, though, that the Canadian government was “braced” for Trump’s habit of making “decisions that surprise people sometimes.” Saying “it’s been clear that circumstances are often challenging,” he repeated the phrase “ready for anything” on multiple occasions.
“My optimism is based on the fact that I know how good NAFTA has been for millions of citizens of Canada, of the United States, and indeed for Mexico.” JUSTIN TRUDEAU
Trump is fond of negotiating bluster that does not always translate into real action. But a Canadian government official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the talks that began smoothly have taken a turn for the worse as U.S. negotiators introduce hard-line protectionist proposals that match the bellicose tone coming from the White House.
“This round, we are prepared for some big surprises of that nature,” the official said.
The fourth round, scheduled for seven days, began Wednesday in a Washington suburb. The hard part is expected to begin Friday, the official said, when the U.S. is supposed to reveal the contentious proposal on automobiles.
Friday is the 13th, “which is telling,” the official said wryly.
The U.S. is believed to be preparing to propose that a hefty percentage of cars be manufactured not just in North America, as present, but in the U.S. itself. The “rules of origin” idea is one of the items the U.S. Chamber of Commerce described this week as a “poison pill” that could derail the talks. Trudeau would not say if a U.S.content requirement, or anything else, was a red line for Canada.
“Obviously, there are proposals that we disagree with. But these are negotiations, and we stay in good faith on them,” Trudeau said.
MP Andrew Leslie, parliamentary secretary to the foreign affairs minister, was more direct in a separate appearance in Washington.
“I would say those are pills which don’t taste very nice. Really quite unpleasant,” Leslie said when asked if the auto proposals were poison pills. “But the final decisions, will not, cannot, be made, until you get to the end of the NAFTA negotiations.”
The prime minister’s Washington visit appeared designed to hedge against the possibility that Trump follows through on his threats. Trudeau visited Capitol Hill before the White House, paying an unusual visit to a House committee that would have a major role in attempting to shepherd a revised deal through Congress or in deciding what to do if
“I believe Donald Trump would be willing to take the economic and political risk (of scrapping NAFTA). I would not want to simply bet that this is just all going to work out.” STEPHEN HARPER
Trump begins the withdrawal process.
Trudeau reminded the committee that Canada is a bigger export market for the U.S. than China, Japan and the U.K. combined.
“So we are already pretty much your biggest customer, and we want to make sure that that becomes easier for you and more profitable for your corporations and companies,” he said.
Even the short public portion of the meeting underscored the complexity of the talks.
Trudeau was seated next to chairman Kevin Brady, a pro-NAFTA Republican who, after pleasantly greeting Trudeau, said he wanted better Canadian protection for U.S. intellectual property and more Canadian access for U.S. dairy.
Trudeau received a warm welcome from the president upon his arrival. “Great prime minister,” Trump said. In the Oval Office, Trump said, “We have a great personal relationship, and we have a relationship now as two countries, I think, that’s as close as ever.”
Trump appeared to express openness to dumping Mexico from the deal and seeking a bilateral arrangement with Canada.
Trudeau said a three-way pact “is better for our citizens, is better for economic growth,” but he added: “So saying, we are ready for anything, and we will continue to work diligently to protect Canadian interests, to stand up for jobs.”
Trudeau is scheduled to visit Mexico on Thursday and Friday.
Making a rare turn as a pundit, Harper, who also supports NAFTA, spoke on a Washington panel as Trudeau visited Trump. Trump’s threats to withdraw from the deal, Harper said, should not be dismissed as mere rhetoric, and companies should prepare for a post-NAFTA future.
“I believe Donald Trump would be willing to take the economic and political risk of that under certain circumstances,” he said. “I would not want to simply bet that this is just all going to work out.”