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Let’s not panic about trade deals

If the deal does unravel—and it will be a long, complicated process—we will revert either to the original Canada-U.S. Free Trade Agreement (although it includes several of the NAFTA provisions that Trump finds objectionable), or, trade between our countries will be regulated under World Trade Organization provisions. Not exactly the Wild West.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, pictured Jan. 16 when he named Olympic figure skaters Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir as the Canadian Flag bearers for the upcoming 2018 Olympic Games in Pyeongchang. Introducing so-called non-trade elements—gender equality, environmental protections, labour, and Indigenous rights—into negotiations is a bold move on Mr. Trudeau’s part. He is apparently convinced that traditional trade deals that have catered to corporate interests, at the expense of everyone else, are responsible for Trump’s victory and for Brexit; that people are challenging the gospel of free trade for good reason. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade

Opinion
BY SUSAN RILEY
January 22, 2018

Opinion | BY SUSAN RILEY | January 22, 2018

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Let’s not panic about trade deals

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