Ontario is ready for new NAFTA negotiations, Wynne says
Premier Kathleen Wynne met with Trump’s agriculture secretary Sonny Perdue as NAFTA renegotiations loom.

thestar.com
By ROB FERGUSON
June 5, 2017

Ontario is better positioned for new negotiations on NAFTA with the Trump administration after meeting Monday with Quebec, Atlantic provinces and southeastern U.S. states, Premier Kathleen Wynne says.

“Understanding where each of us is coming from is very important,” Wynne told a news conference late Monday afternoon at the Fairmont Royal York Hotel.

Her day included a meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump’s agriculture secretary, Sonny Perdue, along with state and business representatives from Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, the Carolinas and Tennessee.

The occasion was the annual conference of the Southeastern United States–Canadian Provinces Alliance, billed as a “strategic partnership” formed to promote trade and investment opportunities among member states and provinces.

“This alliance is all about business and jobs,” said Wynne, who did not detail her talks with Perdue, a former two-term Georgia governor and founding member of the alliance.

Earlier in the day Perdue voiced concerns about several agricultural issues, including Canadian milk - used to make yogurt and cheese - that foreign industry groups consider underpriced.

Trump has branded Canadian dairy practices “unfair” and said they must be fixed as the 25-year-old North American Free Trade Agreement is renegotiated with Canada and Mexico.

Perdue tweeted from his @secretarysonny account that he had “friendly but frank” talks with federal Agriculture Minister Lawrence MacAulay about U.S. exports to Canada and boasted about riding the Union Pearson Express downtown from the airport.

Canada imported $20.2 billion (U.S.) worth of agricultural products from American states last year and exported about $21 billion worth of agricultural products to the United States, making the two countries key markets for each other, Perdue’s department said.

While provinces and states will not be at the NAFTA negotiating table, they will be advising their federal governments, Wynne said.

The Trudeau government in Ottawa has signalled it will seek to modernize environment and labour sections of the deal in talks with the U.S. and Mexico.

Governments are already consulting with industry groups about priorities as Trump, who was elected on a protectionist agenda, looks to improve the lot of American workers.

Wynne heads to Washington on Tuesday with other premiers for meetings with senators, members of congress and government officials looking for “common ground” to keep international trade links open.

“There is plenty of shares and mutual interest,” she said, noting Ontario is a top trading partner of many U.S. states where thousands of jobs depend on exports to this province.

“Knowing the nature about what each of our jurisdictions is doing is really important and will help us as we go through the NAFTA negotiations,” she said.