Trudeau warns US that Canada 'will not be pushed around' on NAFTA negotiations

[DonViejo]

Source: The Hill




BY JOHN BOWDEN - 02/03/18 10:22 AM EST

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau warned the United States on Friday that Canada "will not be pushed around" on trade negotiations as the two countries along with Mexico seek to renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).

Reuters reports that Trudeau again warned U.S. negotiators that Canada could walk away from the agreement if its terms are not met. “We will not be pushed around. At the same time we can remain confident about NAFTA,” Trudeau said Friday, according to Reuters.

“The negotiations are complex and challenging ... I’ve said many times, we are not going to take any old deal,” he added. “Canada is willing to walk away from NAFTA if the United States proposes a bad deal.”

Trudeau's threats mirror similar remarks from President Trump, who during his campaign frequently threatened to rip up the free trade agreement if Canada and Mexico did not negotiate better deals for the United States.

Read more: http://thehill.com/policy/international/372147-trudeau-warns-us-that-canada-will-not-be-pushed-around-on-nafta

[Freethinker65]

1. Blink

[beachbum bob]

2. US needs Canada way more than Canada needs US

the working people in america will be the ones screwed when trumps messes this up

[LiberalLovinLug]

3. People assume, and rightly so, that the US is Canada's biggest trading partner.

but many do not realize that the reverse is also true. That Canada is the US's biggest trading partner. A lot of damage can be done from both sides if you really want to get into a trade war.

[beachbum bob]

5. canada can find trading partners alot easier than America can with asshole trump in office

so...no US is way more fucked

[Spouting1horn]

6. The way Trudeau

handled the Chinese shows that he will not be pushed around by the administration.

[MGKrebs]

4. I doubt if this tactic works with Trump.

But maybe he won't be president long enough for it to matter.

[TomCADem]

7. Bernie Sanders Tells Trump to Keep His Promise on Nafta - Support Trump?

So, if Trump starts imposing tariffs and backing out of trade deals, leading to a ruinous trade war, its the left's fault? I consider myself pretty liberal, and I think the whole idea of blaming immigrants and trade for the ills of America's working class is pretty racist. If you want a villain, try the tax cuts given to the 1 percent that are funded by cuts to education, health and other benefits to the working class.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-12-13/bernie-sanders-to-trump-on-nafta-for-once-keep-your-promise

President Donald Trump is finding an unlikely ally in his efforts to overhaul the North American Free Trade Agreement: the political left.

Civil-society groups, union leaders and left-wing politicians have opposed almost everything Trump has done. But they’re urging him to stand firm in his attempt to overhaul Nafta -- and face down opposition from business groups, who complain that U.S. companies will be hurt by the proposed changes. Mexico and Canada have called U.S. demands unworkable, including on regional-content requirements for cars and investor-state dispute systems.

Senator Bernie Sanders, an outspoken critic of trade deals in his campaign for president last year, called on Trump to deliver. “When Donald Trump campaigned for president, he promised that he was going to stop corporations from shifting American jobs to Mexico,” Sanders said Wednesday at a rally for the #ReplaceNafta movement in Washington. “For once in your life, keep your promises.”

Many pro-trade Republicans oppose the most contentious U.S. proposals, which the administration says will lure manufacturing back to America. Trump may need votes from the left if he hopes to pass a revised Nafta. That means courting organizations such as advocacy group Public Citizen, which opposes much of Trump’s agenda, including his views on climate change and bank regulations. However, the non-profit is tentatively backing several U.S. positions at the negotiating table, including a push to eliminate tribunals that arbitrate disputes between governments and companies.