Observers eye fall sitting for bills to implement still-secret trade pacts with Indonesia and Ecuador
Negotiations with the two countries were completed under the Trudeau government, but the final deals have yet to be unveiled, and could be a trade-diversification win for the Liberals, say observers.
Tariff export quotas could spare Canada pain from U.S. and serve as negotiating tactic with Trump, says Hampson
Fen Hampson says Canadian negotiators should consider redirecting talks towards tariff rate quota-based trade, but others say Donald Trump likely has little interest in applying them in a trade deal.
U.S. a ‘wildcard’ in Canada-Mexico trade talks, but Canada has advantages in domestic energy and advanced manufacturing, say experts
Canada and Mexico know that over-reliance on the U.S. market leaves them vulnerable to political swings from the White House ‘especially under Trump’s more aggressive trade stance,’ says Western University’s Andreas Schotter.
Canada-U.S. parliamentary group has been without a Commons co-chair since election: ‘very concerning’
The Canada-U.S. Inter-Parliamentary Group has built deep links in Congress, but the annual general meetings to select the executives for interparliamentary associations have been delayed until the fall.
Trump and his whooshing deadlines
Whatever happens at the upcoming Alaska summit, U.S. President Donald Trump will go on setting deadlines and then missing them.
Carney’s trade talks demand transparency
Shifting deadlines may require discretion, but that’s no excuse to shield national decisions from democratic oversight and public scrutiny.
Feds keep elbows in motion, but not necessarily always up
The prime minister is playing defence, by making sure that tariff-affected industries have cushions in place to protect Canadian jobs. Various ministers are travelling the world to reinforce relationships that may prove crucial in the trade war with Trump. But time is also on our side.
Carney will need to prove he can actually stand up to Trump, he campaigned on it
The United States holds tremendous economic leverage over us. For now, Canada is protected by the existing North American trade agreement and most of our exports to the U.S. are tariff-exempt. But the agreement will soon be renegotiated and that’s when the U.S. will apply real pressure.
Canada ‘should not relent’ in trade talks, say industry reps who say auto sector needs zero tariffs
No level of tariff is good for Canadian prospects and jobs in the automotive sector, according to Flavio Volpe, president of the Automotive Parts Manufacturers’ Association of Canada and a member of the prime minister’s Council on Canada-U.S. Relations.
Ford’s blunt talk is refreshing
Canadian political leaders will have to stand up and fight back with diplomacy, gold-plated negotiating skills, wily charm, facts, and sometimes, they will need to speak bluntly for all to hear, like Ford, because sucking up doesn’t appear to be helping either. If this is a good-cop-bad-cop strategy, Ford’s doing the bad cop well.
