By Lawrence Herman, former Canadian diplomat who practices international trade law at Herman & Associates, and a senior fellow of the C.D. Howe Institute.
We got a blunt and sobering message last week from Steve Verheul, Canada’s head NAFTA negotiator, telling us that negotiations with the Americans are bogged down and, apart from some agreement on peripheral things, there’s absolutely no movement on the really tough issues.
The fundamental problem, Mr. Verheul said, is that the United States isn’t approaching the negotiations with the objective of concluding a balanced deal. The Trump administration’s position is «America First» and «America Only,» reflecting the tone of the President’s bellicose inaugural address. As a result, the United States has tabled one-sided, intransigent positions, non-starters for Canada from day one. U.S. negotiators have no room to compromise because of orders from the White House.
It’s clear that there’s a long, slow and painful road ahead in trying to achieve a North American free-trade deal, with agreement pretty remote at this stage. Mr. Verheul’s message – which we assume was cleared through the Prime Minister’s Office – is that Canadians shouldn’t hold their breath in anticipating a successful outcome.
[…]
Read more on The Goble and Mail