In current climate, selling trade deals means selling the social benefits

If someone tooka sip of Belgian brew Hoegaardenevery time Prime Minister JustinTrudeauand Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel used the word "progressive" to describe Canada's trade deal with the European Union Friday, that glass would have been drainedby the end of their press conference.

After a meeting on Parliament HIll, Trudeaupaid tribute to the work Michel did topull the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement out of the fire last October.

There will always be people who have concerns about freer trade,Trudeausaid in French, butCETAis await for it "progressive" trade deal anchored in shared values, he said. Ratifying it in the face of a wave of isolationism and protectionismwas "a step forward."

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Describing what nearly sunkCETAlast fall as "concerns" may be an understatement. Thousands of people, organized by labour unions and civil society groups amplifying a range of fears about trade liberalization with North America, had hit the streets of Europe.

Socialists and other left-leaning political parties across Europe were under pressure to stop the deal. Only some past-midnightdealmakingsawapostponed signing ceremonyrescheduled, after then-trade minister Chrystia Freeland felt forced to walk away from regional demands in Belgium to rewrite a deal the EU had said was done.

When we talk about inclusive growth, itcan't just be a phrase that we're throwing around. It has to be meaningful for people- Labour Minister PattyHajdu

The interpretative declaration that was added to quell European fears had little to do withCETA'seconomic benefits or the typical goals oftrade deals, like cutting tariffs or opening new markets. It talked about labour rights, food safety and environmental protections more aligned with the role of governments to supervise business, not enable it.

It was deemed necessary to make sureCETAsurvived its ratification vote in the European Parliament. And the persuasion isn't over: three dozen ratification votes remain in regional and federal legislatures across Europe.

CETAwas theTrudeaugovernment's first, but not last, lesson in how to reassure and overcome the opponents of trade policy.

It may serve it well across its entire trade agenda not just implementing CETA, butnegotiating more deals with thecountries that remain interested in the Trans-Pacific Partnershipor South America'sMercosurbloc.

'Everybody has to benefit'

"International agreements are becoming far more inclusive of social issues and environmental issues and rights," Labour Minister PattyHajdutold CBC News from Berlin Friday. "It's something Canada is pushing as a trend."

The minister toutedCanada's ratification this week of the International Labour Organization's convention on collective bargaining, the eighth andfinal "fundamental" ILO convention Europeans insisted Canada ratify before CETAtakes effect.

Hajduwouldn'tspeak to why the previous Conservative government hadn't ratified the convention, sayingit was a surprise to her when she became labour minister thatit wasn't done yet.

On the same day Canada ratified that ILO convention, aLiberal bill to restore unions' bargaining certification process and repeal financial disclosure rules brought in by the previous Conservative government passed its final vote in the Senate.

"Trade deals are becoming more and more progressive, and as part of that, there has been a substantial focus on labour," Hajdu said. Newer tradeagreements often include chapters on workers' rights, for example.

"What we've seen, as trade agreements have progressed and matured, there's a recognition by countries that everybody has to benefit and there has to be some accountability around that," she said.

"When we talk about inclusive growth, it can't just be a phrase that we're throwing around. It has to be meaningful for people."

Embracing union priorities helped electLiberalsin 2015. They'll need to keep these votes come 2019.

"I think we're coming closer to a place where we can all agree that including aspects of social growth, making sure that we have equity built in ... these are all the kinds of things that yes, the labour movement has fought for, but we're starting to see have a significant influence in the business community as well," the minister said.

'Feminist approach'

Earlier this month,Trudeauheralded Canada's updated free trade agreement with Chile as "a big moment" for progressive trade.

The rewrite didn't cut moretariffs or open markets for new products. The news release didn't projecta dime in additionaleconomic benefits.

Instead, it spoke ofa first-of-its-kindchapter on "trade and gender," to "ensure economic growth benefits everyone."

Standing beside Chile's president, MichelleBachelet,Trudeausaid shared policies lead to a "fairer, more inclusive world."

A new "trade and gender committee" will advance women's participation in the economy,part ofCanada's "feminist approach" toforeign policy.

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The rewrite also enshrinedmore corporate social responsibility standards than were common when the Chile dealwas drafted20 years ago.

Much like the interpretative declarationCanada agreed to graft on toCETA, the new agreement with Chile reaffirms a government's right toregulate industries to enforce things like labouror environmental standards, provided it does so transparently.

Politics 'extremely daunting'

"This is how we advance our progressive trade agenda in the world and how we make trade real for Canadian workers and their families," International Trade ministerFranois-PhilippeChampagne said about the Chile deal update.

"Making it real" may be more difficult in a renegotiationofthe North American Free Trade Agreement later this year.

Early signals from the Trump administration suggestthese talks will be dominated by commercial agendas. But strengthening labour, intellectual property and environmental protection measures seems likely too.

Making sure NAFTA reflects progressivevaluesmight help sell itsmerits to Canadian voterscool if not outright hostile toU.S. President Donald Trump.

As former prime minister BrianMulroney, who oversaw the originalNAFTAnegotiation,told an Ottawa audience Friday: "The politics of free trade were always extremely daunting."

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