Alberta preparing for ‘very possible reality’ of NAFTA collapse: Bilous
James Wood
Canada is trying to be ready in case of a potential United States withdrawal from NAFTA, Economic Development Minister Deron Bilous said Thursday.
At the Canada Urban Municipalities Association annual convention, Bilous urged mayors and councillors from across the province to reach out to their counterparts south of the border to make the case for the importance of free trade.
Speaking to reporters later, Bilous said withdrawal by the U.S. is “a very possible reality” given the protectionist stance taken by U.S. President Donald Trump.
“We’re hoping they will stay at the table. NAFTA is a very critical trade agreement and we not only want to see it continue but Canada and Canada’s position is that we want to reduce trade barriers as much as possible as opposed to putting up walls,” he said.
The United States is by far Canada’s largest trading partner, with more than $88 billion in average annual exports to the south.
Talks between the U.S., Canada and Mexico on a revamped NAFTA have been tense. The latest round of negotiations ended this week with little progress on major issues such as autos, dairy and dispute resolution, with Canada and Mexico criticizing some American proposals as being intentionally unworkable and the U.S. expressing frustration at its two partners.
Federal Liberal Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland said Canada’s approach is to “hope for the best and prepare for the worst.”
full story at http://calgaryherald.com/news/politics/alberta-preparing-for-very-possible-reality-of-nafta-collapse-bilous
Categorised in: Canadian News