Canada, U.S. hopeful on NAFTA
WASHINGTON — The United States and Canada are aiming to reach a deal by the end of the week that keeps the three-country North American Free Trade Agreement intact, as President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of Canada expressed optimism that the two countries could resolve their differences.
“I think Canada very much wants to make a deal,” Trump said from the Oval Office on Wednesday, sounding far more optimistic than just days before, when he announced a deal with Mexico and threatened to leave Canada behind.
“Right now, we call it the U.S.Mexico trade agreement and we’ll see whether or not Canada gets into it,” the president said. “I think it’s probably not going to be good at all if they don’t.”
Trump, who has had frosty relations with Trudeau since a falling-out in June, said the two had spoken by phone. “Hey, he called me,” Trump said. “I didn’t call him.”
Both countries are under pressure to find a way to keep NAFTA intact and to prevent the United States from moving ahead without Canada. Republican lawmakers have warned the White House that a bilateral agreement with just Mexico would probably not pass congressional muster, and companies have said a NAFTA without Canada would cause severe economic damage.
On Wednesday, Chrystia Freeland, Canada’s foreign minister, who is in Washington for talks, expressed optimism that the discussions were moving in a positive direction.
“Mexico has made some significant concessions, which will be really good for Canadian workers,” Freeland told reporters outside the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative. “On that basis, we are optimistic about having some really good productive conversations this week.”
Trudeau, speaking in Ottawa, said, “There is a possibility of getting to a good deal for Canada by Friday.”
The deal that American negotiators reached with Mexico appears to give the United States much of what it has been demanding over the past year, particularly related to automobiles.
Mexican officials have essentially agreed to a quota of cars and car parts into the United States by accepting a deal that would impose tariffs of up to 25 percent on imports above a certain threshold, according to officials.
Exports of cars and sport-utility vehicles in excess of 2.4 million could be subject to the auto tariffs that Trump has threatened to impose as a matter of national security.
The deal would also impose tariffs on Mexican exports of auto parts that exceed $90 billion, according to industry executives. Both figures are higher than Mexico’s shipments to the United States last year, giving Mexico some ability to increase its exports but essentially creating a quota that applies to all Mexican cars and car parts.