Liberals draw firm line in NAFTA negotiations
WASHINGTON — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says Canada will not sign onto a North American Free Trade Agreement that does not include a dispute resolution mechanism and exemptions for cultural industries.
Trudeau says the dispute resolution mechanism in Chapter 19 ensures trade rules are followed.
Speaking in Vancouver, the prime minister also says his government won’t sign an updated free trade accord with the United States and Mexico if the deal didn’t continue exemptions for Canada’s cultural industries, which address the publishing and broadcast industries.
Giving up the exemptions would be tantamount to giving up Canadian sovereignty and identity, Trudeau says.
Canadian negotiators are set to return to the bargaining table Wednesday with an unpredictable U.S. president ready to strike on Twitter and fresh deadlines looming to land a trade deal and keep Canada in the North American Free Trade Agreement.
Canada and the U.S. need to present a text to the U.S. Congress by Oct. 1 in order to join the deal the Trump administration signed with Mexico last week, trade analysts say.
The overall goal is to reach a deal by Dec. 1 so Congress can give its approval to a new NAFTA before Mexico’s new president takes office.
Otherwise, U.S. President Donald Trump is threatening to move ahead on a deal with Mexico that excludes Canada.
The politically sensitive deadlines form a key challenge for Canadian and American negotiators as they resume their talks Wednesday in Washington.
The two sides broke off talks Friday as Trump notified Congress of the deal with Mexico, saying Canada might join later.
But in recent days he has taken a defiant tone on Twitter that some trade experts are dismissing as his usual bluster.
“Congress will support Canada throughout September. After that, Congress will have a tough choice to make in terms of going forward with a good deal with Mexico, opening Mexico’s agricultural markets as we brace for the long haul with China,” said Dan Ujczo, a trade lawyer with Dickinson Wright.
After that, “Canada’s positions are going to be framed as protectionist” on dairy and the country’s current cultural exemption, he said.