The CCA reminds Canadian producers of Canada’s trade strength amidst Trump NAFTA concerns
By Jennifer Jackson
Canadian livestock producers are a topic of discussion for US president-elect Donald Trump’s transition team.
The team is encouraging Trump to negotiate more US-favorable terms in the reshaping of the North American Free-Trade Agreement (NAFTA).
CNN obtained a leaked memo from Trump’s transition team that outlines the schedule of the president’s first 200 days in office, according to the Globe and Mail.
Trump will begin efforts to renegotiate US involvement with NAFTA on his first day in office, according to the memo. This effort will involve the study of how an American withdrawal from NAFTA will affect the US economy.
Trump made statements during the campaign implying that every detail of US-Canada trade could face renegotiation, Perrin Beatty, president of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, told the Globe and Mail.
“Everything in theory is on the table in the relationship, and we’re going to need to get clarity from him as to what he is looking at,” Beatty told the Globe and Mail.
What does the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association (CCA) have to say about the leaked memo and its potential effect on the cattle industry?
“Trump is building his team – there’s all kinds of people that want to be on that team,” says John Masswohl, director of government and international relations for CCA. These people “are showing (Trump) that they have great ideas. (In this case,) someone got a hold of a memo with a potential idea.”
Masswohl welcomes the study of NAFTA effects on the US. He believes the study will show the benefits of trade with Canada and Mexico, such as the number of American jobs dependent on the agreement.
“Something that Canada is good at is trade negotiations,” says Masswohl. “On the basis of this leaked memo, Trump (will not) snap his fingers (for change), much like Canada will not (blindly) ask where to sign. We are going to come at any trade negotiations with smart objectives.”
The memo also suggests Trump will focus on support for country-of-origin labelling in NAFTA, an issue the Canadian government has previously opposed.
“Let’s wait until (Trump) is actually in office, and has a team around him” to see what happens, says Masswohl. For now, “it is just business as usual.”