NAFTA – mackaycartoons

Tuesday July 17, 2017

July 17, 2017 by Graeme MacKay

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Tuesday July 17, 2017

Trump administration poised to reveal goals for NAFTA talks

United States Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer is expected to release today his negotiating objectives ahead of talks to revise the North American Free Trade Agreement next month.

April 20, 2017

The goals for the renegotiation, as well as the Trump administration’s rationale for how these objectives will lead to an agreement beneficial to the U.S., must be published on the USTR website, as required by Congress in accordance with the trade promotion authority granted to the White House for renegotiating a standing agreement like this.

Formal talks to revise NAFTA are expected to start next month. Such objectives must be published 30 days in advance.

The Canadian government is not required to publish its negotiating objectives ahead of the formal talks, expected to start on or shortly after Aug. 17. The location for these talks has not been finalized yet.

While Canada has been consulting formally and informally — an official consultation period expires Tuesday — politicians, officials and negotiators have been talking to affected industries for weeks to prepare Canada’s bargaining positions.

June 2, 2017

They’re expected to continue to do so throughout the process, although Parliament does not require the kind of transparency Congress does.

“The other NAFTA parties — Canada and Mexico … their position has been: the U.S. wanted to re-open this and modernize it. We’re just coming along,” International trade lawyer Dan Ujczo told CBC News last week. “So I think in some ways the U.S. is going to set the agenda.”

“If it comes out really short and sweet with a very narrow set of lists, that’s indicating that they want to get this done as quick as possible,” he said. But if it isn’t a deep dive, Ujczo expects Congress to demand more specifics. (Source: CBC News)

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Thursday April 20, 2017

April 19, 2017 by Graeme MacKay

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Thursday April 20, 2017

Canadian envoy fires back at Trump over dairy claims

Canada’s envoy to Washington has shot back at criticism by President Donald Trump and U.S. milk producers, saying the facts don’t support a charge that the Canadian dairy industry is to blame for the woes of some American farmers.

January 26, 2017

“Canada does not accept the contention that Canada’s dairy policies are the cause of financial loss for dairy farmers in the United States,” Ambassador David MacNaughton said in a letter to the governors of Wisconsin and New York that was released Tuesday night in rebuttal to Trump’s surprise criticism of Canada earlier in the day.

“The facts do not bear this out.”

The U.S. president’s surprise decision to call out Canada by name Tuesday put dairy farmers north of the border on notice that they are in America’s fair-trade sights.

Trump launched his broadside after a brewing trade spat that has seen the U.S. dairy lobby accuse Canada of “systemic disregard” of its trade obligations, while the Canadian industry accused its American rival of “scapegoating.”

October 10, 2015

Trump also signalled he wants to do more than simply tweak the North American Free Trade Agreement, saying he is looking for “very big changes” to the trilateral pact that includes Mexico, or else he will scrap it once and for all.

Trump levelled the threats — some of his strongest-ever anti-Canadian rhetoric — during an event at a Wisconsin factory where he unveiled his “Buy American-Hire American” executive order.

After what has been a relatively warm beginning in relations with Canada, which included what was seen by many as a positive trip to Washington by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Trump dropped the gloves on Canada’s well-guarded dairy sector.

He appeared to be taking dead aim at the Canadian industry and its supply-management system during an appearance in Wisconsin, a state he took from the Democrats with his “America First” anti-trade message.

It is also a state that is feeling the effects of Canada’s decision to impose import taxes on ultra-filtered milk, a protein liquid concentrate used to make cheese. It had been duty-free but Canada changed course after its milk producers complained. (Source: CBC News)

The Telegram, St. John’s, Nfld., April 25, 2017

Thursday January 26, 2017

January 25, 2017 by Graeme MacKay

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Thursday January 26, 2017

Why President Trump might not be the worst for Canada

Yes, the Donald Trump presidency is going to be bad. Yes, it might be a disaster. But it won’t necessarily be a disaster for Canada.

Consider Canada-U.S. trade. President Trump talks like he believes global trade is a form of war, and every day he threatens to start one. Canada is an exceptionally trade-dependent economy, and almost all of our trade is with the United States. Many of our industries have integrated, cross-border production chains. If President Trump wages trade war against any and all imports, Canada is going to suffer catastrophic collateral damage.

But much more likely, as Blackstone CEO and Trump economic adviser Stephen Schwarzman told Canadian government officials on Monday, is that the President will go after countries running big trade surpluses. That means China. It also means Mexico, which Mr. Trump consistently portrays as a stealer of jobs and exporter of illegal aliens. As a result, NAFTA is almost certainly doomed.

But if NAFTA disappears or is sent into the limbo of renegotiation, the earlier Canada-U.S. free-trade agreement still stands, and still protects much (though not all) of Canada’s trade access. Given that Canada-U.S. trade is relatively balanced – Canada runs a small trade surplus with the U.S. when oil prices are high, and a deficit when they’re low – it’s unlikely that the Trump administration is going to want to make Canada a priority target.

Visibly steamrolling the Mexican economy will be popular with many voters from both parties. Ditto a trade fight with China. But attacking Canada? There’s no economic logic to it. Nor would there be much domestic political upside in starting a trade war with the place Americans consistently call their most admired foreign country.

Bottom line: The end of NAFTA is not a good thing. However, if the Trump administration stops there, it would mean a big hit for Mexico, but a relatively small hit for the Canadian economy. (Source: Globe & Mail)

Thursday November 10, 2016

November 9, 2016 by Graeme MacKay

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Thursday November 10, 2016

Trudeau pledges to work with president-elect Trump

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has congratulated Donald Trump on his stunning upset election win and is pledging to work with the president-elect, saying the two nations have a common goal in the success of their citizens.

In his first comments Tuesday’s U.S. election, upset, Trudeau looked past the months of divisive debate south of the border and stressed what the two countries have in common.

“The relationship between Canada and the United States is based on shared values and shared hopes and dreams and we will always work well together,” the prime minister said in Ottawa.

June 29, 2016

“We are strong because we listen to each other and we respect each other,” he told students gathered at a We Day event.

“I’m going to work with president-elect Trump’s administration as we move forward in a positive way for not just Canadians and Americans but the whole world,” he said.

It was a theme that was also reflected in Trudeau’s official statement on the election and his comments on social media Wednesday as Ottawa awoke to a new and surprising reality in America.

In a statement, the prime minister said that his government looks forward to working with the U.S. on issues such as trade, investment, and international peace and security.

“The relationship between our two countries serves as a model for the world. Our shared values, deep cultural ties, and strong integrated economies will continue to provide the basis for advancing our strong and prosperous partnership,” Trudeau said in his statement. (Source: Toronto Star)

Saturday, October 19, 2013

October 18, 2013 by Graeme MacKay

By Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Saturday, October 19, 2013

Canada-Europe free trade deal concluded, ratification two years off

Canada and the European Union have agreed to free the movement of goods, services, investment and labour with a pact-in-principle that challenges Canadian business to expand overseas.

“This is a big deal; this is the biggest deal Canada has ever made. Indeed, it is a historical achievement,” said Prime Minister Stephen Harper.

The prime minister announced the agreement-in-principle Friday with European Commission president Jose Manuel Barroso in Brussels.

But the text of the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement or CETA remains a confidential document that still requires “drafting and fine tuning,” a Canadian official said in Brussels on condition he not be identified.

It could be another 18 to 24 months before final European approval is given, and Canada will likely proceed along a similar time frame, officials say.

Ottawa instead released a 44-page overview and other summary documents. The material is largely silent on what Canada had to cede to Europe, especially in sectors such as dairy and patent protection for pharmaceuticals.

The dairy sector’s farmers immediately accused the government of a “giveaway,” and the generic drug industry warned that health-care costs will rise.

Harper addressed their concerns head on, acknowledging there might be some pain. But he defended the deal as “excellent” for Canada in the long-term, and one that would be good for families looking for cheaper products and business seeking new opportunities in a huge market. (Source: CTV News)