Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau reaffirmed Wednesday during a visit to the United States that his country was ready to withdraw from the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), if the current renegotiations did not result in a satisfactory agreement for Canadians.
“We have legitimate concerns about the future of NAFTA, because the president (US, ed) said it was not a good thing,” detailed Justin Trudeau at the University of Chicago.
“It might be better for Canada to have an agreement than a bad deal,” he said in Chicago, the first leg of a trip that will also take him to Los Angeles and San Francisco.
The US president has already threatened to pull the US out of NAFTA, but the latest talks between the three countries ended on January 29 on an optimistic note, US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer emphasizing that “some progress has been made facts “.
The Prime Minister, however, emphasized the benefits of the North American Free Trade Agreement on the American and Canadian economies. “Our economies have prospered in the past 25 years,” he said.
Discussions between the three countries have hitherto blocked, inter alia, a US proposal deemed “unacceptable” by both Canada and Mexico, the introduction of a “sunset” clause allowing repeal NAFTA after five years.
“We have deep doubts about anything that adds uncertainty, such as a sunset clause,” Trudeau said.
The next round of NAFTA negotiations is scheduled for late February in Mexico.
