Ratifying trade deal a challenge, minister says
Parliament will struggle to ratify the new North American trade deal if U.S. tariffs on steel and aluminum exports aren’t lifted soon, Canada’s transport minister warned Sunday during a gathering of American state lawmakers.
Marc Garneau said time is running out for the federal government to get the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement ratified before the House of Commons rises for the summer break, and it remains an open question whether it will happen without the tariffs being lifted.
“This will present us with real challenges as we begin the process of ratification in Canada, and I don’t know if we’re going to get there,” Garneau told a free-trade panel during the winter meeting of the National Governors Association in Washington. “I’m making a plea here to the governors. I’m making a plea here that you bring up with the president of the United States the fact that these tariffs are a serious impediment to us moving forward on what is the best trade deal in the world.”
Larry Kudlow, U.S. President Donald Trump’s economic adviser and one of Garneau’s fellow panellists, acknowledged the tariff issue. “I got the message loud and clear,” he told Garneau.
Garneau said Canada would move quickly to approve the deal once the tariffs are lifted. “We want to see USMCA ratified in Canada,” he said. “If the tariffs on steel and aluminum are removed, Canada will move expeditiously towards ratification of the USMCA; we believe very strongly in it.”
Canada’s ambassador to the U.S., David MacNaughton, said last week he believes the tariffs could be lifted in a matter of weeks, but refused to provide additional details.