Carney to meet Trump on sidelines of FIFA event, as U.S. president threatens to leave trade agreement

Canadians need to play the long game: former NAFTA negotiator

Canadian and Mexican trade representatives say they believe Trump’s threats of exiting CUSMA are a negotiating tactic.

Two representatives Katie spoke with outside the hearings today say doing so would hurt the economies of all three countries in the agreement.

“I think it’s posturing before the negotiations really start to intensify,” said Steve Verheul. He’s with the Coalition for North American Trade and previously served as a negotiator for Canada during NAFTA discussions.

His advice to Carney this time around? Patience.

The U.S. may still have the upper hand in negotiations at the moment, but Verheul believes that will change.

For now, Canada is exempted from tariffs on most products it trades with the U.S. As for those that aren’t exempted, including steel, aluminum and autos, “we work on [them] and just try to do it quietly and professionally,” Verheul said.

Kenneth Smith Ramos, the coalition’s Mexican representative and also a former NAFTA negotiator, agrees with Verheul’s approach.

“Strengthening this agreement and extending it for another 16 years is the greatest gift we can give to the region in terms of its ability to compete with the rest of the world successfully,” he said.