WASHINGTON — U.S. President Donald Trump is taking a victory lap at the White House, cheering Sunday's last-minute free trade deal, pronouncing the death of the 25-year-old North American Free Trade Agreement — and playing down "tensions" with Justin Trudeau.
Trump acknowledged he and the prime minister have been at odds in recent weeks — but said it was all because of NAFTA, and is over now that the two countries have agreed to a new continental trade pact, christened the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement.
"There was a lot of tension between he and I ... but it all ended around 12 o'clock last night" when the new deal was reached, Trump told a news conference in the White House Rose Garden.
"The only problem with Justin is he loves his people, and he's fighting hard for his people. I think Justin's a good person who's doing a good job."
The new USMCA will be a great victory for America's farmers and ranchers, who will now have the opportunity to sell more American-grown produce in Mexico and Canada. pic.twitter.com/JawNChRKsV
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) October 1, 2018
Trump also refused to be pinned down on whether he intends to ease Section 232 tariffs on Canadian exports of steel and aluminum, saying at once that the tariffs remain in place, but they won't be necessary as long as Canada and Mexico honour the terms of the new agreement.
The tariff measure "is still staying where it is," he said, adding, "but I don't think you will need to use the tariffs."
Trump, flanked by trade ambassador Robert Lighthizer, adviser and son-in-law Jared Kushner and a who's who of his inner circle, called the new agreement the most important trade deal the U.S. has ever made.
We have a new trade deal with the US & Mexico. Watch live as Minister Chrystia Freeland & I discuss the details of how the new USMCA strengthens trade & creates growth for Canadians: 🇨🇦 Nous avons un nouvel accord commercial avec les É.-U. et le Mexique. Regardez en direct la ministre Chrystia Freeland et moi décrire en détails comment le nouvel AEUMC permettra de renforcer le commerce et de créer de la croissance pour les Canadiens :
Posted by Justin Trudeau on Monday, 1 October 2018
My thanks to President @EPN for the call today on the new #USMCA. Canada and Mexico are close partners and this deal makes our partnership even stronger, and benefits people across North America. https://t.co/eEuiBdQQl6
— Justin Trudeau (@JustinTrudeau) October 1, 2018
Spoke this morning with @AndrewScheer and @theJagmeetSingh to update them on the new #USMCA trade deal with the US & Mexico. This deal is going to benefit Canadians across the country by strengthening the middle class & creating new jobs & opportunities.
— Justin Trudeau (@JustinTrudeau) October 1, 2018
The deal, reached late Sunday, will govern $1.2 trillion US in trade, making it the biggest agreement in the country's history, and marks the end of an era during which the U.S. has been "treated so badly" on trade by other countries around the world, the president said.
He said the new deal treats American workers with "fairness and reciprocity," unlike NAFTA, which he again described as the worst deal ever agreed to by the United States.
And he cheered the fact it will give American farmers and dairy producers greater access to markets in Canada and Mexico, protect auto manufacturing jobs and encourage innovation on U.S. soil.
Trump said he spoke earlier today with Trudeau and outgoing Mexican president Enrique Pena Nieto, and also extended thanks to Pena Nieto's replacement, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador.
Manufacturers Relieved, Dairy Farmers Angry In Wake Of NAFTA Replacement Deal
Canadian workers need their government to fight for trade deals that work for them.
— Jagmeet Singh (@theJagmeetSingh) October 1, 2018
With #USMCA, we have a new name, but a worse deal.
From concessions that'll hurt our farmers, to making medication more expensive – this deal is not the progressive solution Canadians need.
Reaction from Canadian business groups to the terms of a renegotiated trade pact between Canada, the U.S. and Mexico range from relief to dismay as the details of the proposed new pact begin to sink in.
The deal, which U.S. President Donald Trump said he plans to call the United States Mexico Canada Agreement (USMCA), was reached late Sunday night amid 11th-hour negotiations ahead of the U.S.-imposed Oct. 1 deadline.
The steel and aluminum industry has expressed concern that the trade deal doesn't include an end to tariffs, dairy producers claim it will completely undercut their industry, while manufacturers — especially the automotive industry — have welcomed an end to the threat of tariffs and the many months of uncertainty.
"Certainly disappointed because they didn't agree on a solution on the 232 sanctions regarding aluminum and steel," said Jean Simard, CEO of the Aluminium Association of Canada.
We're going to stand up for our farmers and our agriculture sector. We're going to protect the workers in our steel, aluminium, and automotive industries. And we're going to hold the federal government accountable to ensure our dairy farmers are fairly compensated. #USMCA #onpoli pic.twitter.com/qdUc3eIUrh
— Doug Ford (@fordnation) October 1, 2018
"We find it very unfortunate, and to us it's certainly very important in the coming days and weeks leading to the final signing of the agreement that they are able to resolve the situation."
United Steelworkers Canadian director Ken Neumann said Canada "sold out" steel and aluminum workers by not getting the 25 per cent steel tariffs and 10 per cent aluminum tariffs.
"It appears Canadian steel and aluminum workers are among those being sacrificed in the concessions made by the Liberal government in this deal," he said in a statement.
The dairy industry was also heavily critical of the deal, which will grant expanded market access to the domestic dairy market and eliminate competitive dairy classes.
Bruno Letendre, head of the association that represents Quebec's milk producers, said the concessions in the agreement are the equivalent of 13 days fewer production for his members.
Former Prime Minister Brian Mulroney says the new USMCA is a “highly significant achievement.” #cdnpoli pic.twitter.com/YAfMq2A3ob
— Cormac Mac Sweeney (@cmaconthehill) October 1, 2018
"We've been sacrificed," he said in an interview. "There's no doubt about that. Supply management has been sacrificed."
The measures will have a "dramatic impact" on dairy farmers and cause the industry to shrink, said Pierre Lampron, president of Dairy Farmers Canada, in a statement.
"This has happened, despite assurances that our government would not sign a bad deal for Canadians," he said.
The general sentiment among manufacturers is one of relief, said Dennis Darby, president and CEO of Canadian Manufacturers & Exporters.
"It removes that uncertainty that was hanging over the sector, in terms of our access to this North American market, in terms of the rules related to our integrated North American supply chain."
LIVE: Trudeau and Freeland address new #USMCA trade deal https://t.co/wFifHh77ve https://t.co/eSPXjCpQnE
— CBC Politics (@CBCPolitics) October 1, 2018
He said he hopes the aluminum and steel tariffs can be resolved shortly, but that the manufacturing industry didn't lose on what's in the new deal.
"At a minimum we haven't lost any ground. Versus a very unpredictable and protectionist U.S. administration, I think Canada did as well as it could."
The deal preserved the key dispute-resolution provisions — Chapter 19 — which allow for independent panels to resolve disputes involving companies and governments, as well as Chapter 20, the government-to-government dispute-settlement mechanism.
A side letter published along with the main text of the agreement exempts a percentage of eligible auto exports from the tariffs. A similar agreement between Mexico and the U.S. preserves duty-free access to the U.S. market for vehicles that comply with the agreement's rules of origin.
Supply Managed Farmers To Get Compensation As A Result Of Trade Deal
OTTAWA — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says the new trade deal with the United States and Mexico is a good one for Canada that protects the agricultural supply management system and staves off threatened auto tariffs.
Speaking to reporters in Ottawa, Trudeau says the revamped NAFTA deal — renamed the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement — is successful in maintaining fairness and balance between Canada and the U.S., a trading partner 10 times its size.
Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland says all farmers in supply management systems will be fairly compensated for the additional market access being given to trading partners in the deal.
However, she says the amount and type of compensation will be worked out in coming months while Canada, the United States and Mexico all work to ratify the agreement reached late Sunday.
Both Freeland and Trudeau say it's important to remember that when the negotiations began over a year ago the U.S. aim was to dismantle supply management entirely, and Canada did not let that happen.
Trudeau noticeably did not mention U.S. President Donald Trump in his opening remarks, saying only in answer to a direct question that the relationship with the president has been challenging during the course of negotiations.
Five Key Takeaways From The New U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement
OTTAWA — After more than a year of talks, Canada finalized a revamped free-trade deal with the United States and Mexico. The new deal, dubbed the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement, or USMCA, will replace the North American Free Trade Agreement. Here are five elements of the new deal:
GETTING MILKED: Trump frequently railed against Canada's dairy industry throughout the trade talks, calling it unfair to the United States. The new deal grants the U.S. access to 3.6 per cent of the Canadian dairy market, a move roundly criticized by domestic dairy farmers. The access given to the U.S. is slightly more than the 3.25 per cent conceded in the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal with Pacific Rim countries.
TARIFFS AND TAUNTS: Trump joked that the deal wouldn't have been made without tariffs, specifically on Canadian-made steel and aluminum, which prompted tit-for-tat retaliatory tariffs from Canada on a number of U.S. goods. And as negotiations dragged on, Trump threatened to slap Canada's auto industry with significant tariffs — a threat that now appears avoided. The deal says the first 2.6 million Canadian autos exported to the U.S. will be exempted from tariffs, a figure well above the current export rate of 1.8 million. But the steel tariffs remain in place and Trump has given no indication when he might lift them.
ATTENTION SHOPPERS: The trade deal raises the threshold for duty-free purchases online from American retailers. When the deal takes effect, shoppers won't pay duties until their online purchase is worth more than $150 — a significant bump from the current threshold of $20. But there's more: Language in the agreement no longer requires companies — such as Google or Microsoft, for example — to put a data centre in Canada in order to do business here, meaning Canadians' information could be housed south of the border and subject to American laws.
INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY: The rules around copyright and intellectual property are set to change. On copyright, the length of time after a creator's death that they maintain rights will move to 70 years from 50. On pharmaceuticals, new biologics — made from natural sources — will be copyright protected for 10 years, up from the current eight, an extension that analysts believe will benefit U.S. companies over Canadian firms.
RESOLVING QUARRELS: Two of Ottawa's key sticking points throughout the talks involved holding on to dispute-resolution tools and decades-old cultural exemptions that leave Canada in control of its own media content, from broadcasting to publishing to music.
The USMCA preserves what was known as Chapter 19, which allows independent panels to resolve disputes over tariffs and duties, as well as Chapter 20, the government-to-government dispute settlement mechanism. Chapter 11, which allows companies to sue governments over perceived mistreatment, has been dumped.
