VERHEUL DEFINED
The man who will lead Canada’s negotiations,
“(The U.S. and Mexico) may be able to put up somebody who is in his league, but they are not going to put up somebody who is better. I can guarantee that.” JASON LANGRISH EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF CANADA EUROPE ROUNDTABLE FOR BUSINESS
OTTAWA— Just weeks after Canada concluded the arduous, seven-year negotiation to ink a trade deal with the European Union, Steve Verheul boarded a plane for Washington, D.C.
Verheul had recently been lauded in the House of Commons for his leading role in landing that agreement. Conservative MP Gerry Ritz, a cabinet minister in the Harper government during much of the EU-Canada negotiation period, was especially effusive. He called him a “soft-spoken, quiet gentleman” and said: “We cannot say enough good things about Steve . . . He’s world class.”
And so Verheul was off to Washington, destined to attend the first of many meetings to discuss the North American Free Trade Agreement, which the newly elected U.S. president — the leader of Canada’s largest trading partner, a country with which $752 billion of business was done in 2016 — had called the worst deal in history, and vowed to either fix it or nix it.
In the ensuing flurry of activity to ensure Canada doesn’t lose out in the upcoming renegotiation of NAFTA, we’ve seen Justin Trudeau and his cabinet members scatter across the U.S. to woo public and private leaders with arguments that the trade deal is mutually beneficial. But unless you’re ensconced in the chamber of political obsession that enfolds this country’s capital, you probably haven’t heard of Verheul.
That is likely to change. He may be one of the most important people in Canada right now.
As has been widely reported, but as-yet unconfirmed by Ottawa, Verheul will reprise his role as chief negotiator when Canadian officials sit down to speak with American and Mexican counterparts for the first round of NAFTA talks next week.
Jason Langrish, executive director of Canada Europe Roundtable for Business, co-ordinated private sec- tor input on the agreement with the EU. Echoing the comments of many on Verheul, Langrish said Canada could have no better person leading its discussions on NAFTA.
“(The U.S. and Mexico) may be able to put up somebody who is in his league, but they are not going to put up somebody who is better,” Langrish said. “I can guarantee that.
“He is the prototype for the type of person you need to get a deal done.”
Much of that reputation stems from Verheul’s performance as chief negotiator on the deal with Europe. He took on that role at the get-go in 2009. But his experience runs much deeper than that, spanning almost three decades of experience as a bureaucrat in Ottawa.
Verheul did not respond to an interview request for this story.
Verheul’s father, Piet, ran a dairy farm equipment company in southwestern Ontario for 40 years, according to his obituary. Steve Verheul graduated from Western Uni- versity in 1984 with a masters of arts in political science.
He joined the public service a few years later and began two decades of work in Canada’s agriculture department. Verheul participated in the discussions that led to NAFTA in 1994, as well as trade negotiations in Uruguay that led to the establishment of the World Trade Organization.
David Plunkett, who was Canada’s ambassador to the EU from 2011 to 2015, said this experience with agricultural trade discussions, which includes complex and politically sensitive issues such as supply management, burnished Verheul’s reputation as a sharp negotiator.
“Anybody in the trade policy community who had dealt with Agriculture Canada knew him from way back and knew how skilful he was,” Plunkett said.
Verheul will stare across the table during NAFTA talks and see John Melle representing the U.S. and Ken- neth Smith Ramos for Mexico.
Melle has been the U.S.’s assistant trade representative since 2011 and has worked for the country’s trade department since 1988, where he has overseen agreements with Canada, as well as Mexico, Chile, Central America and the Caribbean.
Ramos also has a deep resumé. He is currently Mexico’s director of trade and NAFTA at the country’s embassy in Washington, having started his career as part of Mexico’s original negotiating team on the agreement. He has held other positions in the government, too, including senior roles in the agriculture, international affairs and economic ministries.
Those who know Verheul say he stacks up well — and much of that has to do with his temperament. Both Plunkett and Langrish described Verheul as an even-keeled and respectful person. His aura during negotiations matches that character, they said; when it comes to emotions, Verheul plays it close to the chest.
“You wouldn’t want to play poker against Steve or with Steve. He’s pretty stone-faced,” Plunkett said.
As Langrish pointed out, not all trade negotiators are cut from that cloth. Canada’s point man for the 1987 trade deal with the United States, Simon Reisman, was renowned for his brash persona.
Once, during the tense and closely watched talks on that agreement, Reisman lashed out at the Star.
“That damn thing is a very poor excuse for a newspaper, and I have no respect for it or for you,” he bellowed at the paper’s Washington correspondent at the time, Bob Hepburn.
(As Hepburn wrote in a 2008 column marking Reisman’s death, the trade negotiator was frustrated by the Star’s coverage of the issue and editorial stance against free trade.) Verheul is a different breed. And for Langrish, his cool and measured vibe is just what Canada needs for this round of talks.
He said Verheul has a deep knowledge of technical issues and consults widely, while also understanding the concerns of politicians and those of private businesses. And when a Belgian province threatened to scupper the EU-Canada deal last year, Verheul was instrumental in soothing concerns and crafting a compromise, Langrish said.
“I’m not saying he’s the most humorous, most entertaining guy . . . He does it through perseverance and earning the respect (of others),” he said.
The first round of talks on NAFTA are slated to begin in Washington on Wednesday. With files from Tonda MacCharles