Part of the purpose of trade deals is to prevent politicians from inserting politics into matters of commerce. Donald Trump is bucking that trend. What does it mean for Canada and NAFTA?
A welder fabricates a steel structure at an iron works facility in Ottawa on March 5, 2018. U.S.President Donald Trump’s stated intention to impose new tariffs on steel and aluminum imports could start a trade war.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick
Ottawa seems utterly unprepared for a trade war with the United States. The recent federal budget upholding equity values is noble, but won’t mean a thing if the government runs out of cash.
Pamela K. Starr, USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences
The admired US ambassador to Mexico is resigning, even as the two countries spat over trade, immigration and Trump’s tweets. Can this critical diplomatic relationship survive yet another problem?
Trump has made pushing protectionism since the campaign.
AP Photo/Chris Carlson
The idea that the US is historically a free trading country is a myth. Here’s why that’s a good thing.
Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland with U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer, right, and Mexico’s Secretary of Economy Ildefonso Guajardo Villarrea, deliver statements to the media during the sixth round of negotiations for a new North American Free Trade Agreement in Montreal in January 2018.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Graham Hughes
Donald Trump has described NAFTA as the worst trade deal ever signed by the United States. As NAFTA talks continue, here’s what Canada and Mexico can do if the unthinkable happens.
Bill Clinton and Donald Trump share an awkward anniversary.
Canada’s NAFTA strategy is in big trouble. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is seen here meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump in the Oval Office of the White House in February 2017.
(THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick)
Instead of treating the Trump administration as a campaign adversary, Canada needs to start working with the United States to renegotiate a NAFTA that serves both countries, not regimes like China.
At least one economist worries we’ll be mostly poorer.
AP Photo/Go Nakamura
Trump has attacked NAFTA, saying that cheap, under-regulated Mexican labor hurts American workers. If he’s right, then NAFTA negotiations could be a chance to push Mexico on workers’ rights.
We don’t know for sure if any of these things could happen, but if they do we’re in for a wild ride in 2018.
Image sourced from shutterstock.com
Any number of implicit and explicit deadlines make 2018 look like a more eventful year than most.
U.S. President Donald Trump, right, talks with British Prime Minister Theresa May in Italy in May at a G7 summit. Trump has crowed about a “very quick” U.S.-U.K. trade deal.
(AP Photo/Luca Bruno)
Donald Trump views himself as a deal-maker, so the prospect of a “quick” trade deal between the U.K. and the U.S. seems unlikely, despite the American president’s earlier optimism.
Trump will soon learn the costs of going it alone on trade.
AP Photo/Andrew Harnik
American lawmakers in the 1930s learned the hard way what happens when a country raises tariffs and makes other unilateral trade decisions.
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks at a campaign rally in support of Sen. Luther Strange, in Huntsville, Ala., on Sept. 22.
(AP Photo/Brynn Anderson, File)
Precisely because of his problems at home, Donald Trump wants to do more abroad – possibly with disastrous results. How can those who know foreign policy rein him in?
A trade official from the United States walks past a sign Monday where Canadian, American and Mexican officials are holding North American free trade talks in Ottawa.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld
Never mind NAFTA – Canada’s quiet efforts to boost trade with China should be ringing alarm bells given Chinese human rights abuses, and raises questions about whether Beijing has demanded secrecy.
The Constitution may burst Trump’s threat to withdraw from NAFTA.
AP Photo/Mel Evans
The US wants rid of NAFTA’s dispute settlement mechanism but for Canada it’s a red line issue.
U.S. President Donald Trump enjoys some time in the cab of a mover truck parked at the White House in March when truckers and industry CEOs came for a discussion on health care.
(AP Photo/Andrew Harnik, File)
Mexico has traditionally been NAFTA’s biggest loser. But Canada is at risk if the U.S. gets its way in removing a dispute settlement mechanism from the deal in the upcoming NAFTA renegotiations.