Trudeau says Canada is ready if Trump nixes NAFTA
'I don't think the president is going to be cancelling it,' Trudeau tells CBC Radio's The House
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says he doesn't believe U.S. President Donald Trump will pull out of the North American Free Trade Agreement, but Canada has multiple contingency plans ready if trade talks go south.
The latest round oftalkswrapped in Montreal on Monday with the trade ministers from Canada, Mexico and the United States agreeing some progress was made but acknowledging there are stilltough challenges ahead.
"Not only do we have a Plan B, we have a Plan C and D and E and F," said Trudeau in an interview with Chris Hall, host ofCBCRadio'sThe House.
But the prime ministerremained tight-lipped about what's in those dossiers.
"What [Plan B] involves is standing up for Canadians and making sure that we move forward in the best possible way, and depending on what the Americans do, depending on what decisions the administration takes, we'll make sure that we do the right things," he said.
"Ithink one of the dangers is falling into hypotheticalsand chasing rabbitsdown holes," Trudeau said in the interview. "Just know that we have looked at a broad range of scenarios and have an approachthat is going to continue to stand up for Canadian jobs while we diversify our markets."
'Our message has been consistent'
But Plan A is to stick with the charm offensive they've been pushingsince day one.
"I don't think the president is going to be cancelling it," Trudeausaid of the decades-old trade deal.
"I've been positive about NAFTA and NAFTA renegotiationsfrom the very beginning. Our message has been consistent, to the president, to our partners and friends in the United States: that NAFTA has been good for American jobs. It's been good for Canadian jobs."
Trumpdidn't mentionNAFTAdirectly in his state of the union address Tuesday night, but spoke about ditching what he sees as unfair tradedeals, pointing to his earlier decision to withdraw the U.S. from the Trans-Pacific Partnership.
"From now on we expect trading relationships to be fair and, very importantly, reciprocal."
If the president had wandered the halls of Capitol Hill earlier that day,he might haveoverheard former prime ministerBrian Mulroney giving animpassioned defence ofNAFTA before the U.S. Senate committee on foreign relations.
Mulroney, a key player in the initial trilateral pact,hit on the key points being made by Canadian politicians, even those on opposite benches:free trade has economically benefited the U.S. and Canada, and is part of the foundation holding up one of the closest bilateral relationships.
"How do you explain today a 4.1 per cent unemployment rate in the United States, and a similar rate in Canada and growing prosperity in Mexico?" he said.
"What happened, of course, is that we got together and we built a $21-trillion market with millions and millions of new jobs in North America, in all places."
When they met earlier this week, Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland, U.S. trade representative Robert Lighthizer and MexicanSecretary of the Economy Ildefonso Guajardo closed a chapter on anti-corruption and made progress in someother key areas.
"This round was a step forward, but we are progressing very slowly," Lighthizersaid.
The seventh round of negotiationswill take place in Mexico from Feb. 26 to March 6.
The House'sfull interview with Trudeau airs Saturday at 9 a.m.. 9:30 a.m. in Newfoundland.
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