Retour aux nouvelles

1 octobre 2018 | Local, Naval

Canada and the U.S. reach 11th-hour trade deal

By

After almost 14 months of tough bargaining, Canada and the United States have settled their trade differences and reached an agreement on a new North American free trade agreement. This one won't be called NAFTA, however.

The trilateral deal will now be known as the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA). The new name seems to be a nod to U.S. President Donald Trump, who has said he didn't like the name NAFTA.

The federal cabinet met at 10 p.m. Sunday for about an hour to discuss the agreement and, after it ended, the prime minister said it was “a good day for Canada” as he left the building. He said he'd have more to say on Monday.

Officials from the Prime Minister's Office said there will be another cabinet meeting in the morning and likely a news conference, too.

A joint statement was released by Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland and U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer.

“Today, Canada and the United States reached an agreement, alongside Mexico, on a new, modernized trade agreement for the 21st Century: the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA),” it stated.

“USMCA will give our workers, farmers, ranchers, and businesses a high-standard trade agreement that will result in freer markets, fairer trade and robust economic growth in our region. It will strengthen the middle class, and create good, well-paying jobs and new opportunities for the nearly half billion people who call North America home.”

The two lead negotiators added: “We look forward to further deepening our close economic ties when this new agreement enters into force.”

They thanked their Mexican counterpart, Economy Secretary Ildefonso Guajardo, for his work on the deal.

On Twitter, Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer said “a good NAFTA deal is critical to Canada's economy.”

“Millions of Canadian jobs rely on having free trade with the U.S. and Mexico. We will take a close look at the agreement's provisions as soon as they're available to evaluate the deal Justin Trudeau and the Liberals have signed.”

Perrin Beatty, the president and CEO of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, said that with a deal like this, it's important to see all the elements, but details are still scarce.

“However, if the broad lines are as reported, @cafreeland and the Canadian negotiating team have managed to preserve the most important elements of #NAFTA under very challenging circumstances,” he said on Twitter.

Canada and the United States have been working hard to resolve their NAFTA differences since the end of August, after American and Mexican officials reached a bilateral agreement of their own.

However, the prime minister has said throughout the process that his government would not sign a modernized NAFTA just to get a deal. Issues at the table have included the automotive industry, dairy, dispute resolution, cultural industries and intellectual property.

Canada's dairy industry, in particular, has been in American crosshairs for months, with the United States demanding more access to this country's market, as well as changes to parts of Canada's domestic milk-pricing system.

The U.S. has wanted access to about 3.5 per cent of Canada's dairy market, which is similar to what Canada granted under the Comprehensive and Progressive Trans Pacific Partnership. There were strong indications this was also part of the deal reached Sunday night. Media reports say farmers will be compensated. The Americans have also asked for changes to several dairy classes. iPolitics has learned that the contentious Class 7 has been eliminated in this deal. Class 7 is a domestic pricing class that governs milk ingredients such as skim milk powder and milk proteins.

The difficult politics of the trade deal were immediately on view with Parti Québécois Leader Jean-François Lisée saying on social media that Quebec dairy farms had been sacrificed by Trudeau. Quebec voters will elect a new government on Monday, with all parties saying the new trade deal could not touch Canada's dairy market.

The Toronto Star is reporting that Canada has been able to preserve the dispute-resolution mechanism known as Chapter 19. The federal government had wanted to hold onto that to avoid having disputes settled in U.S. courts.

Other reports say Canada has been able to maintain its exemption for culture.

Ministers had arrived for the cabinet meeting Sunday amid strong indications the end was in sight for a renewed NAFTA.

Freeland and Ambassador to the United States David MacNaughton had spent the day in Ottawa, taking part in an aggressive, long-distance, last-minute push to get Canada into a free trade deal.

Trudeau arrived at his downtown office, located directly across from Parliament Hill, around 7:30 p.m. He did not comment as he headed into the building, but media reports from the U.S. capital were indicating a deal was near.

While most ministers also stayed mum, Agriculture Minister Lawrence MacAulay said he's “always concerned about the agriculture industry.” He was joined in the meeting room by his deputy minister Chris Forbes.

With files from the Canadian Press

https://ipolitics.ca/2018/09/30/canada-and-the-us-reach-11th-hour-trade-deal/

Sur le même sujet

  • Davie aura «probablement» des contrats de brise-glaces, dit Trudeau

    18 janvier 2018 | Local, Naval

    Davie aura «probablement» des contrats de brise-glaces, dit Trudeau

    Justin Trudeau a annoncé jeudi que le chantier naval Davie, à Lévis, obtiendra «probablement» des contrats pour construire des brise-glaces du gouvernement fédéral. «On sait très bien que le travail qui se fait à Davie est de grande qualité», a-t-il soutenu sur les ondes de Radio-Canada. Présent toute la journée à Québec, le premier ministre du Canada a soutenu que des négociations commenceront vendredi entre la Garde côtière et la Davie au sujet d'un achat de brise-glaces. Selon lui, le chantier Davie ne souffre pas de préjugés défavorables auprès de son gouvernement, comme plusieurs l'ont affirmé ces dernières semaines. M. Trudeau a également affirmé qu'il sera présent le 29 janvier pour la vigile visant à commémorer la tuerie de la Grande Mosquée. Sur les ondes du FM93, le premier ministre du Canada a soutenu qu'il était important de se souvenir de ce triste événement. «Il faut reconnaître qu'il y a encore des actes haineux, il y a encore des propos intolérants.» M. Trudeau dit toutefois être encore «en réflexion» sur la possibilité ou non de créer une Journée nationale contre l'islamophobie à cette date, tel que demandé par la communauté musulmane de tout le Canada. Sur la légalisation du cannabis, le premier ministre a tenté de convaincre les auditeurs des deux stations de radio qu'il posait un geste pour protéger les jeunes et non pour encourager la consommation de cette drogue. Selon lui, il faut que le pays reconnaisse qu'il a un problème d'accessibilité actuellement à cette drogue. «Le système actuel, ça ne fonctionne pas, ça ne protège pas nos jeunes.» M. Trudeau sera omniprésent à Québec jeudi. Après ses entrevues radio, il rencontrera le maire de Québec Régis Labeaume vers 11h15 à l'hôtel de ville. Le maire a déjà indiqué cette semaine qu'il souhaitait parler du pont de Québec, du tramway et des artéfacts de Parcs Canada avec M. Trudeau. En soirée, M. Trudeau tiendra une soirée de rencontre informelle avec les citoyens, qui aura lieu à l'école secondaire De Rochebelle, à Sainte-Foy. Cette façon de faire, qui s'inspire des États-Unis, vise à rendre M. Trudeau plus «accessible», explique Filip Novakovic, attaché de presse du député fédéral de Louis-Hébert, Joël Lightbound. «Je peux vous dire qu'il y a énormément d'engouement», lance M. Novakovic, qui soutient que des centaines de citoyens ont déjà effectué leur préinscription. La salle peut contenir un maximum de 1000 personnes et il est toujours possible de s'inscrire sur place, à partir de 16h30. M. Novakovic assure qu'il n'y aura un filtrage des questions. Les gens n'auront qu'à lever la main et c'est M. Trudeau lui-même qui donnera les tours de parole. Plus de détails à venir... https://www.lesoleil.com/actualite/politique/davie-aura-probablement-des-contrats-de-brise-glaces-dit-trudeau-66016c8dd2d1281f382381dd0efd39bd

  • Unlike Finland, Canada nixes cold-weather tests, fly-off among competing fighter jets

    15 janvier 2020 | Local, Aérospatial

    Unlike Finland, Canada nixes cold-weather tests, fly-off among competing fighter jets

    Finland, which is considering the same aircraft as Canada, for its new jet fleet, is requiring each competing aerospace company to provide two aircraft to test at low temperatures and in real world operating conditions. DAVID PUGLIESE, OTTAWA CITIZEN Updated: January 15, 2020 Canada won't conduct a fly-off between fighter jets competing to become the country's new warplane nor conduct testing to see how such aircraft perform under cold weather conditions. The decision not to proceed with such tests under Canada's $19-billion future fighter procurement program stands in contrast to Finland, which is considering the same aircraft as Canada, for its new jet fleet. Each competing aerospace company is required to provide Finland with two aircraft to test at low temperatures and be evaluated in real world operating conditions. Public Services and Procurement Canada has confirmed that Canada will not do any fly-offs among competing jet or tests for cold-weather operations like Finland has underway. “We do not have plans for an exercise of this nature,” stated department spokeswoman Stéfanie Hamel. Finland and Canada are considering the Boeing Super Hornet, Lockheed Martin F-35 and Saab Gripen. The Finnish Air Force is also testing the Dassault Rafale and the Eurofighter Typhoon, both of which pulled out of the Canadian competition because of worries the process was rigged to favour the F-35. Finland hopes to buy 64 aircraft. Canada will purchase 88 aircraft. Canadian aerospace industry representatives say the competing companies as well as allied air forces could provide Canada with results from tests they have conducted on the competing aircraft. Finland could have taken the same route but its procurement staff want to ensure the country is getting value for money since the project will cost around $14 billion. Finnish defence ministry program manager Lauri Puranen outlined in a blog post the extensive tests that will be conducted and the reasons for not relying on tests conducted by others. “The Finnish operating environment and operating methods may differ from other users' weather and lighting conditions,” Puranen stated. “Winter conditions affect the operation of the multi-function fighter and especially the performance of electro-optical systems, but possibly other active and passive systems as well.” The fighter jet candidates will be tested on the ground, in the air, and during takeoff and landing, he added. The testing of the competing aircraft is currently underway. Another series of tests involving the jets taking part in flight operations and a simulated lengthy war game will be conducted by the Finnish Air Force later this year. Finland expects to select a winner for the aircraft program in 2021. The planes, which will replace Finland's current fleet of F-18s, are expected in 2025. The Canadian government expects bids for its fighter jet program to be submitted by the end of March. A winning bidder is to be determined by early 2022. The first aircraft would be delivered to the Royal Canadian Air Force by 2025. Information about how Canada intends to evaluate the jets is limited. But Public Services and Procurement Canada has noted that technical merit will make up the bulk of the assessment at 60 per cent. Cost and economic benefits companies can provide to Canada will each be worth 20 per cent. Concerns have been raised by Lockheed Martin's rivals that the competition has been designed to favour the F-35. This newspaper reported last year the requirements for the new jets put emphasis on strategic attack and striking at ground targets during foreign missions. That criteria is seen to benefit the F-35. In addition, the federal government changed criteria on how it would assess industrial benefits after the U.S. government threatened to pull the F-35 from the competition. The Conservative government had previously selected the F-35 as the air force's new jet but backed away from that plan after concerns about the technology and growing cost. During the 2015 election campaign, Justin Trudeau vowed that his government would not purchase the F-35. But at the same time, Trudeau stated his government would hold an open competition for the fighter purchase. The Liberal government backed away from its promise to freeze out the F-35 and the aircraft is now seen as a front-runner in the competition as it has many supporters in the Royal Canadian Air Force. Many of Canada's allies plan to operate the plane. Canada is a partner in the F-35 program and has contributed funding for the aircraft's development. https://ottawacitizen.com/news/national/defence-watch/unlike-finland-canada-nixes-cold-weather-tests-fly-off-among-competing-fighter-jets

  • Bombardier partners with General Dynamics on platform that meets Canada?s Multi-Mission Aircraft requirements - Skies Mag

    18 mai 2023 | Local, Aérospatial

    Bombardier partners with General Dynamics on platform that meets Canada?s Multi-Mission Aircraft requirements - Skies Mag

    Bombardier is collaborating with General Dynamics on a multi-mission and anti-submarine warfare aircraft that will meet the requirements for Canada.

Toutes les nouvelles