Debra Steger – Reform of the World Trade Organization
From: Jon Johnson To: Global Affairs Canada and the Canadian Auto Industry Date: October 24, 2018 Re: Clarity still needed on USMCA auto rules of origin The automotive rules of origin in the new trade deal with the US and Mexico involve multiple classes of vehicles and parts and differing regional value content (RVC) thresholds […]Daniel Schwanen – New trade agreement with the United States and Mexico
To: The Rt. Honourable Justin Trudeau, Prime Minister and the Honourable Chrystia Freeland, Minister of Global Affairs From: Daniel Schwanen Date: October 3, 2018 Re: New Agreement with the United States and Mexico The agreement with the United States and Mexico –the newly dubbed USMCA – is a signal accomplishment. Considering the circumstances under which Canada […]Trump’s Barbs Send Canada-u.S. Relations To New Lows – Globe And Mail Op-ed
Donald Trump’s insulting statements about Canada in New York this week mark a new low in the Canada-U.S. relationship, with ramifications far beyond the North American free-trade agreement.
Never before has a U.S. president threatened to inflict direct harm on Canada. While there have been some rough spots over the course of our shared history, Mr. Trump’s apparent disdain for Canada and threats of economic warfare, seeming to relish in the prospect like some kind of neighbourhood bully, has taken the bilateral relationship into a state of political disrepair.
Even though the final episode hasn’t been written, it’s possible to predict that the NAFTA era may be coming to an ignominious end; 25 years of stability and mutual…
Jon Johnson – Important Ruling in Constitutional Challenge to Section 232
From: Jon Johnson To: Canadians Concerned About Section 232 Tariffs Date: September 25, 2018 Re: Important Ruling in Constitutional Challenge to Section 232 Tariffs imposed (steel and aluminum) or threatened (automotive goods) under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962 are the club the Trump administration is using to extract concessions from trading […]John Gruetzner – Canada Must Up Its Game to Play with China
From: John Gruetzner To: To the next generation of Canadian exporters to China Date: September 17, 2018 Re: Canada Must Up Its Game to Play with China China’s economic stature and the realities of a Trump-era NAFTA have stimulated a stronger interest within Canada in the theory the China market could off-set losses […]Daniel Schwanen – NAFTA: The Case for More Competition in the Dairy Market
From: Daniel Schwanen To: Chrystia Freeland, Minister of Global Affairs Date: September 12, 2018 Re: NAFTA: The Case for More Competition in the Dairy Market (Updated from an April 2018 Intelligence Memo) Canadians are accustomed to paying more for milk and dairy products than consumers, bakers or restaurateurs in other countries. Canadian prices are kept high under a […] Robson, Omran – We would sell foreigners more goods and services if we sold them less government debt
From: Bill Robson and Farah Omran To: Canadians Worried about our Weak Trade Performance Date: September 6, 2018 Re: We would sell foreigners more goods and services if we sold them less government debt Notwithstanding a welcome improvement in Canada’s current account balance in the second quarter, our deficit over the past 12 months is still $50 billion. […] Jon Johnson – The Nafta Die Is Cast – Sort Of
From: Jon Johnson To: Canadians Concerned about NAFTA Date: September 5, 2018 Re: The NAFTA Die is Cast – Sort of The US Bipartisan Congressional Trade Priorities and Accountability Act (TPA Law) requires that the president notify Congress of his intention to enter a trade agreement at least 90 calendar days before doing so. At […] Christopher Sands – Alternatives to NAFTA Chapter 19
To: The Hon. Chrystia Freeland, Minister of Global Affairs From: Christopher Sands Re: Alternatives to NAFTA Chapter 19 Date: September 4, 2018 The status of the Chapter 19 dispute resolution provision is the most vexatious remaining issue in the NAFTA negotiation endgame. This mechanism uses binational panels that have the power to require domestic agencies […]Daniel Schwanen – Let`s Grab the NAFTA Carrot
From: Daniel Schwanen To: The Honourable Chrystia Freeland, Minister of Global Affairs. Date: August 30, 2018 Re: Let`s Grab the NAFTA Carrot The US-Mexican agreement on key elements of a renewed NAFTA is a carrot dangled in front of Canada: the concrete possibility of an acceptable agreement on auto trade and of restoring reasonably predictable access to the […]Dan Ciuriak – Trade Wars: the Costs so Far
From: Dan Ciuriak To: Canadians Concerned about Tariffs Date: August 29, 2018 Re: Trade Wars: the Costs so Far Since last spring, the United States has initiated a series of trade actions that have elicited retaliatory responses from its partners. Trade wars are underway. This note quantifies the damage to date. (Click here for an expanded discussion.) In March, […]A New Nafta Isn’t Even Close To The Finish Line – Globe And Mail Op-ed
Another confusing day in Washington, with U.S. President Donald Trump talking by phone to the Mexican President and then suggesting the two countries could conclude a bilateral agreement, now that some kind of understanding with Mexico on auto rules of origin has been reached.
Telling the Mexican President that the United States might want to pursue a separate trade deal with them seems to have taken the Mexicans aback, Mexico never contemplating having to go up alone against the United States. It’s clear by now that Mr. Trump and his team don’t like dealing with Canada.
That’s reflected in Canada being sidelined for weeks while the other two governments held high-level meetings behind closed doors – a disgracefully bad-…