EDITORIAL: Trudeau and Freeland win compromise on USMCA

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Let’s give credit where credit is due.

We haven’t been fans of the way Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland negotiated a new NAFTA trade deal with the U.S. and Mexico.

Trudeau needlessly introduced distractions into talks by insisting any new deal include contentious gender, labour, Indigenous and environmental protections. There was too much sniping by Trudeau and Freeland at the volatile U.S. president, and by U.S. President Donald Trump at Canada.

However, at the end of the day, Trudeau and Freeland signed a deal that protects thousands of jobs and billions in trade on both sides of the border, which is what really matters and what trade deals should be about.

The new agreement no longer has “free trade” in the title but will instead be known simply as the United States — Mexico — Canada Agreement or USMCA.

There was give and take on both sides.

President Trump had railed against supply management, sometimes acting as if he’d settle at nothing less than the complete dismantling of our current dairy quota system.

While we believe supply management is very much in need of reform in Canada, that should be done on our terms.

In the end, Canada offered the U.S. access to an additional 3.5% of our dairy market, the same as was granted during European trade talks. This is reasonable.

Trump will be able to claim a win for farmers, meanwhile Trudeau will be able to tell our farmers he fought to maintain most of the status quo and hopefully prices will go down here.

The worst concession Canada made is to block generic drugs from hitting the market for 10 years, instead of the current eight. This will cost Canadians, particularly seniors and people with low-incomes. Although, it’s important to note the U.S. was seeking 12 years.

We agreed to a cap on auto exports to the U.S., but it’s much higher than current volumes, meaning this critical industry will not be harmed. And we maintained the important dispute resolution mechanism to resolve trade disagreements.

No trade deal is perfect. There are still tariff issues to resolve.

However, the USMCA provides a fair framework for Canada, Mexico and the U.S. to prosper together.

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