The Canadian Chamber of Commerce is calling on Ottawa to conduct a charm offensive to defend Canada含羞草研究社檚 trade interests in the U.S. ahead of November含羞草研究社檚 presidential election.
The group represents businesses of various sizes across Canada, and says now is the time for a co-ordinated outreach campaign by the federal, provincial and municipal governments to protect cross-border trade.
That campaign would involve private businesses and aim to convince Americans that Canada is a boon to the U.S. economy, ahead of the scheduled review of the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement in 2026.
含羞草研究社淲ashington has increasingly come to see its bilateral relationship as not as strategic, but as transactional,含羞草研究社� reads a letter dated last Friday.
含羞草研究社淚t would be a terrible mistake to think that we can wait until 2025 to ensure that CUSMA is preserved.含羞草研究社�
The group argues that thelooming presidential election will only encourage politicians to propose more protectionist policies that would sideline Canada.
When former president Donald Trump threatened to end the NAFTA agreement that had governed U.S. trade with Canada and Mexico since 1994, Ottawa launched a widescale effort to convince Americans they benefit from free trade.
Months of intense negotiation eventually landed a new deal in 2018.
The agreement, which came into force two years later, includes a 含羞草研究社渞eview and term extension含羞草研究社� clause that establishes a 16-year life cycle and requires all three countries to sit down every six years to ensure all are still satisfied.
That clock began ticking in the summer of 2020.
If it runs out in 2026 without a consensus, that will trigger a self-destruct mechanism of sorts, ensuring the agreement 含羞草研究社� known in Canada as CUSMA 含羞草研究社� would expire 10 years later without a three-way consensus.
Adam Taylor, an international trade consultant with the firm NorthStar Public Affairs, says Canadian provinces and companies could partner with Ottawa to make a similar push, but he said it含羞草研究社檚 best to quietly form a contingency plan.
含羞草研究社淧eople in the United States have given up on free trade, have given up on globalization and have begun to look very much inward. And that含羞草研究社檚 very much a problem for an outward, trade-reliant country like Canada,含羞草研究社� Taylor said.
含羞草研究社淲e should be mindful of it. I think if we go on too strong a charm offensive too early, it could actually backfire, and we含羞草研究社檇 put these issues onto the radar and insert them into the political dynamics south of the border.含羞草研究社�
Taylor, who has advised conservative governments in Canada on trade matters, said he thinks it含羞草研究社檚 likely that different levels of government with various political leanings would mount an 含羞草研究社渁ll-hands-on-deck approach含羞草研究社� to protect the national economy if Washington started looking at major changes to CUSMA.
But he argued that the Liberals need to do a better job highlighting the countries含羞草研究社� deep ties in fields such as military and intelligence, to hedge against the possibility that Americans see Canada as just any other economic partner.
President Joe Biden has launched policies that privilege American companies over foreign businesses, which Taylor said are 含羞草研究社渧irtually indistinguishable含羞草研究社� from Trump含羞草研究社檚.
While Biden含羞草研究社檚 administration hastweaked some of these measures after Canada warned of harm to trade flows, Taylor said both presidents have had Canadians businesses think about the possibility of CUSMA being eventually changed or even withdrawn.
Conservative MP Randy Hoback, the party含羞草研究社檚 associate trade critic who advises the party on U.S. relations, said Canada is already effectively undertaking such an approach, through the work of cross-partisan parliamentary visits to the U.S. and working groups involving legislators in both countries.
含羞草研究社淲hen you have a neighbour to the south that is so big and so important to our economy, you have to always, consistently be there with aggressive ideas in regard to things that we can do together, looking for solutions and heading off problems.含羞草研究社�
He said the Liberals could do a better job of getting their MPs to sell Canada含羞草研究社檚 brand to Americans. 含羞草研究社淚 think they含羞草研究社檝e been a little shy and they含羞草研究社檝e been too reactive,含羞草研究社� he said.
Hoback similarly said the business community could better collaborate with Canada含羞草研究社檚 embassy and provincial trade offices in Washington.
He said all those offices already help brief newly elected members of the U.S. Congress and Senate about the ties their regions have with Canada, including in tailored presentations by Canada含羞草研究社檚 ambassador in Washington, former trade negotiator Kirsten Hillman.
含羞草研究社淭his charm offensive, as they call it, should never stop,含羞草研究社� said Hoback. 含羞草研究社淵ou have new members (of Congress) coming in all the time, who need to have that background information to understand the dynamic of the relationship.含羞草研究社�
In its letter, the Canadian Chamber of Commerce also calls on Ottawa to have better export infrastructure such as ports and terminals for liquefied natural gas, so that Canada is able to change how it exports resources and commodities based on global demand and geopolitical shifts.
The group also wants more military spending to boost Canada含羞草研究社檚 chance of joining strategic partnerships in areas such as the Indo-Pacific.
Grantly Franklin, a spokesperson for Global Affairs Canada, said CUSMA provides for a 含羞草研究社渟table and predictable trading environment含羞草研究社� in North America.
含羞草研究社淐anada will continue to work through advocacy and outreach to communicate the benefits of trade and CUSMA both at home and in the U.S.,含羞草研究社� he said in an emailed statement. 含羞草研究社淭his is an ongoing effort that relies on a Team Canada approach leveraging business, provincial and territorial governments, and other (partners含羞草研究社�) engagement with U.S. counterparts.含羞草研究社�
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