Ontario calls on U.S. border states to defend NAFTA, economic minister says

Tariffs, border taxes, rules of origin and exactly what they mean for the economy of Canada and Ontario are being carefully watched as U.S. President Donald Trump and his team look atrenegotiatingthe North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).

Brad Duguid, Ontario's Minister of Economic Development and Growth told CBC Kitchner-Waterloo'sThe Morning Edition with Craig Norris the province knows there's going to be a renegotiation of NAFTA and they're discussing the ways the deal can be improved for the province.

Ontario is the number one destination for exports from 20 American states and the number two destination for seven more.For the auto sector alone that adds up to exports of $59 billion to Ontario.

• Donald Trump presidency won't hurt Ontario economy: minister

"Michigan is a significant trading partner," said Duguid. " [We're] looking to the governors in the Great Lake states and the political representatives in those states, to be our chief spokespeople for the administration to ensure the administration is aware of how important that unfettered border is to millions of American jobs."

Take emotion out of discussion

The CEO of auto parts supplier Linamar Corporation in Guelph, Linda Hasenfratz, told the CBC show On the Money, it's important to take a lot of the emotion out of the discussion.

"The new U.S administration wants jobs and prosperity," said Hasenfratz. "If it's clear that prosperity will be negatively impacted by some of these changes then that should be very clear so that we can make good fact-based decisions."

Duguid addedhe is hearing reassuring information about the importance of trade between Canada and the U.S.

Listen to the full interview on CBC Radio with Brad Duguid here: