As the Trump administration continues to link the lifting of steel and aluminum tariffs to a successful conclusion of trade talks, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says Canadians need to feel confident about what will happen 'if' they move forward.
Speaking at a press conference before leaving the United Nations General Assembly in New York to return to Ottawa, Trudeau said he's discussed the tariffs the Americans justify on "national security" grounds in many conversations with the U.S. president. Donald Trump insisted "a few times" that "if we renegotiate NAFTA ... there will be no need to worry about these other things," Trudeau said.
Getting the right deal for Canada, Trudeau said, "involves obviously feeling confident about the path forward, as we move forward, if we do, on a NAFTA 2.0," he said, including a "lack of punitive tariffs that we consider are unjust."
The U.S. steel industry continues to operate below its capacity, so the Trump administration believes these tariffs protect domestic jobs. They've also helped increase prices, and resulted in profits, for the U.S. industry...
As a country providing significantly more steel and aluminum to the U.S. market, Canada is more reluctant to sign on to a deal that doesn't guarantee an end to national security tariffs between the two trading partners...
The prime minister said Canada would work "as long as it takes to get the right deal for Canada." He said there were a "broad range of alternatives, a broad range of paths" ahead for the negotiations...
Nevertheless, the U.S. intends to proceed with sending text for its two-way deal with Mexico to Congress, although some observers have expressed skepticism this text is ready or even workable without Canada in the deal. It's also unclear a Mexico-only deal would win Congressional approval.
Lighthizer was pressed on why this deadline is important — ... it would allow the outgoing Mexican president to sign it before leaving office on Dec.1... He implied that a new Mexican president would require a new negotiation, and that would be "unfair to all the people involved," including U.S. farmers and workers hoping to benefit from the deal...
This was excerpted from 26 September 2018 edition of the CBC News.