The threat of the United States quitting NAFTA has to be taken seriously, Canada’s foreign minister said on Thursday, even as Ottawa prepares creative ideas to unblock talks to update the tri-nation treaty.
Chrystia Freeland said the U.S. administration had repeatedly stated it could walk away from the 1994 pact between the United States, Canada and Mexico. President Donald Trump has insisted it must be reworked in favor of his country.
Canadian government sources told Reuters on Wednesday they were increasingly convinced the United States plans to announce it intends to pull out of NAFTA.
“The United States has been very clear since before the talks started that (a pull out) was a possibility,” Freeland told reporters. “I think we need to take our neighbors at their word, take them seriously, and so Canada is prepared for every eventuality.”
This was excerpted from the11 January 2018 edition of Reuters Canada.