Document shows how Ottawa will sell North American trade deal to Manitobans
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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 14/11/2018 (2488 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
OTTAWA — The federal government will start promoting to Manitobans the new trade agreement formed to replace NAFTA by highlighting the duty-free access it has salvaged, from frozen french fries to airplane parts.
An internal briefing document obtained by the Free Press shows the messages Ottawa plans to share with Manitobans, as it promotes clinching the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement a year before a federal election.
Canada agreed to the text of USMCA on Sept. 30, after a year of tumultuous negotiations that included threats of a two-country deal that would exclude Canada, and tariffs on metals that still remain.
USMCA’s text has not been signed nor ratified, and needs the approval of a new Democrat-headed U.S. Congress hungry to fight Republican legislation. Nevertheless, Ottawa is preparing to prod local businesses to take advantage of changes in the deal, and to play down concerns by opposition parties and groups such as dairy farmers.
“What we finally negotiated as Canada is obviously better than the original trade deal,” said Dennis Darby, president of Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters, which had advised negotiators during the talks.
Darby reviewed the document, and said it seems to accurately portray Manitoba’s stake in the trade deal.
The one-page briefing note lays out Manitoba’s billions in exports to the United States and Mexico, starting with agriculture, which represents 28 per cent of what the province sends stateside.
It highlights that USMCA preserves duty-free access for 90 per cent of agricultural products and commodities bound for the U.S. and Mexico.
The document also cites “new market access opportunities” in the province under expanded tariff lines. It gives the example of “the Winnipeg-based company Richardson” being able to expand “in the areas of refined sugar and sugar-containing products.”
Richardson International did not respond to multiple emails and calls.
Under “key benefits,” the note similarly outlines preserved access for processed and manufactured goods, saying Manitoba is a heavyweight in canola oil, buses and parts, as well as frozen french fries — all of which get a lower tariff rate than countries outside USMCA.
The documents highlights Canadians keep the ability to visit the U.S. with fast-tracked visas for short-term visits to provide paid services, “see their investments firsthand” and support colleagues in sales. “This is particularly important for Manitoba’s aerospace industry,” the note hails.
Darby said that’s accurate, but noted Canada wasn’t able to obtain wider access than what it had before. “The provisions didn’t get worse, but they didn’t get better, in the new (trade agreement).”
It also touts breaking down “technical barriers to trade,” such as including new technology in types of work permits, and “electronic processes which will reduce red tape for exporters and save them money.”
Darby said allowing digital forms would be extremely helpful for ensuring firms can make on-time deliveries across the border.
Trade deal remains unsigned
OTTAWA — Canada secured the USMCA only after months of a concerted lobbying campaign that had ministers, premiers, unions, business groups and farmers rallying their American colleagues, armed with details, hyperlocal information about the benefits of trade between the two countries.
OTTAWA — Canada secured the USMCA only after months of a concerted lobbying campaign that had ministers, premiers, unions, business groups and farmers rallying their American colleagues, armed with details, hyperlocal information about the benefits of trade between the two countries.
Dennis Darby, head of Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters, expects Canada will do the same with the new Democrat-controlled U.S. Congress, where some representatives are already raising issues with clauses in the U.S.-Mexico-Canada trade deal.
“We’re all sitting with our fingers crossed that it gets through the U.S. process,” Darby said, calling Canadian and Mexican ratification “very straightforward.”
A week ago, Reuters reported American officials presented their Canadian counterparts with an altered text that was “not at all what we agreed to.”
Officials from all three countries have mulled signing the deal by year’s end.
Regardless of what happens, Darby said Manitoba businesses are in a much better place than even three months ago, when there was a real chance the continental trade pact could collapse.
“There were moments where there was a lot of trepidation in Canada and Mexico, that the U.S. would try to cancel the deal,” he said. “The worst case is that (current North American Free Trade Agreement) will continue.”
— Dylan Robertson
“A lot of stuff that didn’t get much of headlines over the last year-and-a-half… but it was all progress made during the negotiations,” he said. “Acutely so in Manitoba, which is a small province but punches well above its weight class, in terms of manufacturing and, obviously, exports.”
The document also cites a new chapter on small- and medium-sized enterprises, and the importance of “ensuring that information is available to SMEs on the obligations and functioning of” USMCA — an issue those businesses have raised themselves.
American tariffs on steel and aluminum remain. While neither material is generated in Manitoba in large quantities, Darby said the province’s manufacturers heavily rely on both, raising the prices of everything from firetrucks to agricultural components.
“It continues to be a drag on industry,” said Darby.
The federal Liberals have committed to fighting those tariffs; the Conservatives have said they should have been resolved before concluding USMCA talks.
dylan.robertson@freepress.mb.ca
