Trudeau says Canada will work with China on a possible free trade agreement despite the NAFTA clause

SINGAPORE (Reuters) – Canada and China will continue to work together on a potential free trade deal, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Thursday.

It is good that the country is a signatory to the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), which states that if one of its partners concludes a free trade agreement with a "non-merchant" country such as China, the others can leave in six months and form their own bilateral trade pact.

"This clause does not prevent us from doing what we are already doing, that is, we continue to negotiate with China on a possible free trade agreement," Trudeau told a city hall. with students from the National University of Singapore.

This controversial clause in Canada is part of the efforts of US President Donald Trump to economically isolate China and prevent Chinese companies from using Canada or Mexico as a "back door" to ship products. free of customs duties to the United States.

"There is an element of transparency. We need to keep our partners informed of our progress, "added Trudeau.

The United States and China are wrestling with a trade war that has confronted them with ever-increasing tariffs on their respective imports.

Under the clause, the updated NAFTA countries, renamed the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), must notify the other three months before entering into negotiations likely to result in a trade agreement with a third country.

Trudeau said he and Chinese Premier Li Keqiang had raised more than trade deals at their bilateral meeting in Singapore on Wednesday.

"Yes, we talked about strengthening trade links and increasing the flow of goods and services between Canada and China for the benefit of citizens and businesses on both sides," Trudeau said.

"But I also talked about human rights, the situation of the Uyghurs, we also talked about difficult topics to address," he added, without giving details.

Beijing has faced an outcry from activists, academics, foreign governments and UN human rights experts, following mass detentions and strict surveillance of the Uyghur minority, mainly Muslim, and other Muslim groups in its western region of Xinjiang.

Trudeau's comments come a few moments after Reuters announced that Canada was spearheading a group of 15 Western ambassadors to Beijing to try to meet with Xinjiang's top official to get an explanation for the alleged violations. human rights against Uighurs.