Canadian envoy sees solid future for NAFTA

There is “absolutely ” a connection between the ongoing renegotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement and a trade dispute between Boeing and Bombardier.

That’s according to Andrew Leslie, Parliamentary Secretary to the minister of Foreign Affairs, with special responsibilities for Canada-United States relations.

The retired lieutenant-general-turned-Liberal MP was in Montreal on Thursday as part of a consultation process on the trade negotiations.

Around the same time Leslie was speaking in Montreal, U.S. commerce secretary Wilbur Ross told a Washington D.C. audience the U.S. wants to add a “sunset clause” to NAFTA that would terminate the deal in five years unless all three parties agree to maintain it.

That suggestion was quickly criticized by both the Mexican and Canadian ambassadors to the U.S., with Canadian Ambassador David MacNaughton saying such a clause would run counter to the trade deal’s inherent goal of projecting long-term predictability.

Despite U.S. President Donald Trump’s protectionist stance, Leslie said he’s sure the deal will continue. “NAFTA has produced amazing results for the three countries,” he said.

Ultimately, final authority for international trade deals in the U.S. rests with Congress, not with the White House, he said, and the trading relationship between Canada, the U.S. and Mexico is so complex and successful that it would be impossible to destroy.

“Underneath NAFTA, you have the Canada-U.S. free trade agreement and underneath that you have the conditions of the World Trade Organization,” he said.

Leslie was selected, in part, for the special role in Canada-U. S. relations because of the large number of former generals in Trump’s cabinet.

Canada is looking to modernize the deal, Leslie said. While that involves simplifying some elements of cross-border trade, the government also wants to add “progressive values” to the deal, like environmental protections and labour rights, as well as chapters on gender equality and Indigenous Peoples.

Canada is also pushing back on the U.S. goal of removing NAFTA’s Chapter 19, which allows governments to challenge countervailing and anti-dumping duties imposed by one of the other two.

“Our answer is really simple: No,” Leslie said.

He also said Canada is “taking a hard look” at Chapter 11, which allows foreign investors to sue governments.

While that system has cost Canada $168 million, Leslie said, that’s a tiny fraction of the $128 trillion in national revenue generated over the past 23 years through the deal.