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WASHINGTON – President Trump has said he refused a meeting with Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau at the UN General Assembly this week and on Wednesday threatened to punish Canada by taxing cars and cars. It exports to America. .
Trump's comments come after months of tense trade talks between Canada and the United States, which did not result in an agreement. The White House is preparing to conclude a bilateral trade agreement with Mexico.
"Frankly, we're just thinking of taxing cars coming from Canada," Trump told a news conference on Wednesday. "It's the mother's vein. It's the big one. We are very dissatisfied with Canada's negotiations and negotiating style. "
Trade tensions between the United States and Canada have been increasing for months, and relations between Trump and Trudeau have deteriorated due to disagreements over the future of the North American Free Trade Agreement.
Mr. Trump said he refused to meet with Mr. Trudeau because Canada had treated the United States badly and the high tariffs on dairy products, which prevent the United States from selling milk to Canada. A spokesman for Mr. Trudeau said that the Prime Minister had never asked for such a meeting.
On Tuesday, Trump appeared to snub Mr. Trudeau as he did not stand up to shake hands with the Canadian prime minister at a luncheon at the UN summit meeting. Mr. Trudeau stated that the two leaders did not meet because their schedules were filled with meetings with leaders from distant countries.
But Mr. Trump did not offer a similar excuse, but instead criticized Canada for its negotiating style and its negotiator. "We do not really like their representative," Trump said Wednesday, apparently referring to Chrystia Freeland, Canada's foreign minister. who led the Nafta talks for his country. Ms. Freeland has irritated some in the administration by making speeches suggesting that the United States, under the leadership of Mr. Trump, is turning its back on democratic values and their traditional role as world leaders.
Mr. Trump left open the possibility of concluding an agreement with Canada, but said that there would be no more Nafta.
"I do not like Nafta. I never liked that. It's very bad for the United States. It's great for Canada, good for Mexico, "said Trump, adding that he would rename the U.S.M.C. For the United States, Mexico and Canada.
The Trump administration is expected to send Friday a text to a new NAFTA that does not include Canada, congressional aides and others familiar with the talks, raising doubts about the ability to maintain intact the trilateral pact of 25 years.
One month after the United States and Mexico Having reached a bilateral trade agreement, talks between US and Canadian officials have yet to reach a similar agreement, with significant differences.
Robert Lighthizer, Trump's chief trade negotiator, said Wednesday that "at this point we are running out of time" for negotiations with Canadians.
The impending inability to reach an agreement between the three countries by September 30 creates a new series of uncertainties for companies whose supply chains and businesses depend on the company's ability to meet the demands of the world. 39 access to the three markets and legislators, who must determine if they can allow the United States to go alone with Mexico.
Mexico and the United States want to sign a final agreement before the new Mexican government takes over on December 1 and the final text of the trade agreements must be published 60 days before their signature by the US president. deadline.
Mr. Trump would not commit to withdrawing from Nafta but said he was ready to go alone with Mexico for the moment.
"We are very well on the way with Mexico, the relationship is very good," said Trump. "We will see what happens with Canada. They charge us 300% duty on dairy products. We can not allow this to happen. "
Canada stated that it would not allow the United States to meet the deadline for negotiating trade negotiations. After marathon interviews this month, Lighthizer and Freeland have not scheduled any official meetings in Washington this week.
"We will continue to work as long as we need to reach a good deal for Canada," Trudeau told a press conference in New York on Wednesday.
Asked what would happen if the United States moved forward with just Mexico, Mr. Trudeau said, "We will continue to work on a wide range of alternatives. A wide range of paths awaits us. "
Canadian and US officials have tried to avoid negotiating in public, but in recent days, their differences have begun to be felt. David MacNaughton, Canada's Ambassador to the United States, told a Politico-sponsored news conference in Toronto that Canada wants to be protected against the Trump Administration's use of tariffs for reasons of national security.
The upcoming elections in Quebec, a province whose economy is heavily dependent on dairy production, have also complicated negotiations for Canadian leaders considering an agreement with the United States.
"It seems that Canada has decided that it was too risky before the October 1 elections in Quebec to conclude an agreement on Nafta, so the agreements between the United States and Mexico will go forward and will be signed, "said Lori Wallach. from Global Trade Watch to Public Citizen, a consumer advocacy group. "Canada and the United States will speak and at some point they will all be affected and serve together in Congress in 2019."
Canada is the largest export market for America, and members of both parties have insisted that it be included in any agreement with Mexico. Congress must ratify major trade agreements and an agreement excluding Canada should be difficult to pass. There is also a legal debate going on as to whether the President has the power to terminate Nafta by his own means. If Nafta is terminated, Canada and Mexico could continue to negotiate on their terms or work together on their new free trade agreement.
The agreement reached by the United States with Mexico in August updates Nafta's provisions on the digital economy, automotive, agriculture and trade unions. Among the most important changes are the changes to the rules governing the manufacture of cars, with the aim of bringing more cars to the United States from Mexico.
The heart of the trade pact – allowing US firms to operate in Mexico and Canada without tariffs – remains intact.
While Nafta negotiations fail, Japanese officials and officials announced that they would begin bilateral negotiations for a free trade agreement between the two countries.
Lighthizer said he would seek congressional approval to use an alleged expedited procedural authority to speed up the negotiations, which he said would take place in two stages. First, he said, countries will seek an "early harvest" agreement to reduce tariffs and other barriers to trade in goods. As a result of this agreement, the countries said in a statement issued Wednesday afternoon that "the United States and Japan also intend to conduct negotiations on other points of trade and investment."
The joint statement said the US's goal in the negotiations was to raise its auto industry. It also noted that Japanese officials would not go beyond Japan's "previous Economic Partnership Agreements" to open its markets to agricultural and forestry imports. This means that the Trump administration admits it will not get bigger concessions from the Japanese in the areas that the Obama administration did when negotiating the TPP, which Trump rejected after his taking office.
