OTTAWA 鈥� Mexico and the United States have reached an 鈥渦nderstanding鈥� on trade, as the result of weeks of bilateral negotiations on aspects of NAFTA. U.S. President Donald Trump said this newly reached agreement is being finalized and submitted to Congress with a new name, prior to the 鈥渆xisting deal鈥� being terminated.
Canada is set to rejoin the table to discuss and hopefully renegotiate the trilateral NAFTA despite the president鈥檚 latest comments.
Here鈥檚 what鈥檚 being said about the deal and what it means for Canada:
鈥淚鈥檓 going to quote Minister Freeland here and say that there have been and will be moments of drama in negotiations, it鈥檚 perfectly normal. But let me make it clear that this is a trilateral agreement. It requires all three countries to be involved. It also requires Canada鈥檚 signature on the final deal, so that is the way that things will proceed.鈥� -- Transport Minister Marc Garneau, chair of the cabinet committee on Canada-U.S. relations
鈥淲hen we look at him now turning his aim to Canada, will it be the dispute resolution mechanism? Or will it be the farming sector? I think we know where he鈥檚 going to aim his guns at and we can expect over the next couple of days, particularly leading up to this timeline. We are on an extremely tight timeline to get an agreement in place so that the current outgoing Mexican president can sign off on it.鈥� -- former Conservative interim leader and member of Canada's NAFTA advisory council Rona Ambrose, in an interview with BNN Bloomberg
鈥淗e also has to look in a mirror. The United States subsidizes the agriculture industry about over $20 billion a year, the oil industry about $22 billion a year. So if you take a look, the United States picks and chooses their arguments when it comes to subsidies and different supply management systems. So we鈥檒l see how this unfolds. They鈥檙e bargaining but ultimately they know you can鈥檛 have a bilateral agreement as it relates to auto. The system is far too intertwined between our three nations. So am I worried about it? The answer is no.鈥� -- Unifor President Jerry Dias on CTV News Channel
鈥淚 think what you鈥檙e seeing here is, Canada kept its powder dry and now it鈥檚 time to negotiate and Canada is on its way. The U.S. is going to have to make concessions, Mexico has already made a lot of concessions, and we鈥檒l see what Canada brings to the table, but I think we鈥檙e on the verge of a potential new agreement.鈥� -- Canadian American Business Council鈥檚 Maryscott Greenwood on CTV News Channel
鈥淭he fact that we have so many questions regarding the application of the U.S.-Mexico deal to the Canadian auto industry and other key sectors of our economy shows why it was critical for Canada to be at the negotiation table as a serious partner. I am troubled that despite the fact that NAFTA grew out of the Canada-U.S. free trade agreement, Mexico appears to have usurped our role as the key U.S. trade partner.鈥� -- Conservative foreign affairs critic Erin O鈥橳oole in a statement
鈥淲ill it be called something new? Well it won鈥檛 be called the U.S. Mexico Trade Agreement but they can call it whatever they want to suit their political purpose. If it would help to call it the Donald Trump Trade Agreement, great, call it the Donald Trump Trade Agreement.鈥� -- former NAFTA negotiator Gordon Ritchie in an interview with CTV News
鈥淎t the end of the day there is no deadline, all three countries have to agree on a trilateral basis and then the talks can conclude and that鈥檚 the process, the real process underway鈥� The 90 days has to be a complete NAFTA that has been renegotiated. All three countries have agreed to everything from A to Z. That then is a package delivered to Congress, who then have 90 days to review.鈥� -- trade expert Adam Taylor in an interview with CTV News
