EDITORIAL: Forget about a better deal than CUSMA
· Toronto Sun
See more Toronto Sun on Google — save as a Preferred Source
Visit somethingsdifferent.biz for more information.
With Aug. 19 being the deadline for U.S. President Donald Trump to impose 50% tariffs on a new array of $20 billion in Canadian imports, it’s timely to remember what Prime Minister Mark Carney said he would achieve on the trade front with the U.S. less than a year ago.
He told the House of Commons on Oct. 8, under questioning from Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre, that Canada already has “the best deal with the Americans” under the Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement on trade (CUSMA) and “we will get an even better deal because we’re negotiating.”
But that was then and this is now.
The political terrain on trade today is far different than it was amid the premature optimism of last fall.
Optimism now means Canada and the U.S. will work out a trade agreement through mutual concessions that will provide some level of economic certainty going forward, or at least as much certainty as possible, with deals agreed to by Trump.
On that front, Canada and Mexico would have been happy to keep the current CUSMA deal in place for another 16 years, until 2042, had the Trump administration agreed on July 1.
Instead, while CUSMA remains in place for now, it will be subject to annual reviews before winding down a decade from now, unless a new agreement is reached.
Issues today broader than CUSMA
But the issues today are much broader than CUSMA. Trump’s latest tariff threat includes some products previously tariff-exempt under CUSMA.
Canada is trying to get relief from 50% U.S. sectoral tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminum, 25% on automobiles and increased levies on softwood lumber and wood products, which Trump imposed last year under Section 232 of the U.S. Trade Expansion Act of 1962.
This is part of a larger deal to also address Trump’s looming threat of 50% tariffs Wednesday on $ 20 billion worth of Canadian goods on everything from dairy to alcohol, hockey equipment, furniture and cement, under Section 338 of the U.S. Tariff Act of 1930.
Obviously, a settlement will be contingent on Canada making further concessions on trade.
The goal is no longer getting a better deal than what we had under CUSMA. It’s about a deal we can live with.