Industry analysts talked in circles on a recent webinar as they discussed the implications for agriculture of Canada’s deteriorating relationship with its largest trading partner.
On one hand, panelists on the hastily convened Canadian AgriFood Policy Institute webinar last month acknowledged the futility of negotiating on quicksand. The U.S. has demonstrated that a deal made today might change tomorrow.
But on the other, webinar panelists speculated with varying degrees of optimism over what it will take to get negotiators back to bargaining.
This isn’t unique to this cluster of analysts. We all suffer from the same disconnect to varying degrees. But it underscores the difficulty of coming to terms with the seismic shift in America’s attitudes towards Canada.
It makes perfect sense to want to restore the equilibrium behind four decades of economic co-operation that has served both sides of the border well and which was once the envy of the world. And in the face of catastrophic change, it’s human nature to go through a phase of denial as we absorb the new reality.
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