Canadian NAFTA demands confront D.C. reality
Canadian Press
Alexander Panetta9 hrs ago
WASHINGTON - Some of Canada's key demands in the upcoming NAFTA
renegotiation will be a tough sell in the United States, according to former
American trade officials who say they will be difficult to achieve in the
climate of a Donald Trump, America First-themed presidency.
The Canadian government has just released priorities for the talks which
begin Wednesday and they include a broad desire for four new chapters, and
two specific demands: fewer Buy American rules for public contracts and
freer movement of professionals.
It's the latter two some see as a long shot.
That includes a former official who oversaw procurement at the United States
Trade Representative. Speaking in an interview a few days before Canada
formally announced its positions, Stephen Kho explained why it's always been
difficult to extend free trade in procurement to the state and local level,
as Canada wants.
Canada has long desired a similar level of access to contracts at the
subnational level that it enjoys at the federal level and it mostly failed
to get that in negotiations for the now-stalled Trans-Pacific Partnership.
Kho says he doesn't see how this changes now.
American politics is moving in the opposite direction: Trump was elected on
a promise to increase Buy American rules, not reduce them; it's even a
stated U.S. priority for the new NAFTA; the opposition is also with Trump on
this, with Democratic lawmakers calling for NAFTA to allow less foreign
procurement, not more.
"It might be a problem," said Kho, who was lead counsel on Buy
American/procurement issues at USTR and now works at the Akin Gump firm.
© Provided by thecanadianpress.com
"It's particularly going to be true of the Trump administration. It's made
it a point, very publicly, of tightening up the exceptions rules, waivers
... (and proclaiming) America First. That will make it particularly
difficult and it's difficult already."
He said it's always good to talk about new ideas, but: "I don't think
expectations should be too high for this being liberalized further."
Canada announced that more liberalized procurement would be a priority, in a
speech Monday by Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland in which on the
eve of her departure to Washington for round one of the NAFTA talks, she
laid out about 10 priorities.
She referred to the economic argument against buy-local rules.
"Local-content provisions for major government contracts are political junk
food: superficially appetizing, but unhealthy in the long run," Freeland
said.
The basic argument against these provisions is they drive up the cost of
projects so taxpayers pay more, they get fewer new roads and bridges for
their money, that reduces economic activity and in the long run it doesn't
save the economy any jobs.
But it's politically popular.
Polls show huge voter support for buy-local policies amongst Americans,
although more detailed polling has, on the other hand, shown that voters
prefer getting a bargain to paying more for a product just because it's made
at home.
Professional visas was another of the more detailed priorities Freeland
mentioned.
What Canada wants is changes to a NAFTA jobs list which allows some people
to more easily get a visa to work across the border.
The jobs list is old and outdated. It mentions land surveyors and range
conservationists, for instance, but not computer programmers. International
companies want that jobs list in Chapter 16 expanded to make it easier for
employees to move between offices.
Robert Holleyman, former deputy U.S. trade czar to Barack Obama, says any
changes to labour mobility could prove difficult. In an interview several
days ago, before Freeland spoke, he predicted worker mobility might get
swept into the turbulent U.S. immigration debate.
That immigration issue has been fought to a stalemate in the American
Congress. Congressional paralysis on immigration-related reforms is one
reason that NAFTA list has never been updated.
And the mood in Congress matters: in the end, it will have to vote on any
NAFTA deal.
"I think any question that deals with mobility of persons will be very
difficult for the U.S. to do," said Holleyman, who is now president of C&M
International.
"I think it would be, in any case but particularly in the context of the
current debates about immigration. I suspect that'll be very difficult for
the U.S. to do."
EM
On the 49th Parallel
Thé Mulindwas Communication Group
"With Yoweri Museveni, Ssabassajja and Dr. Kiiza Besigye, Uganda is in
anarchy"
Kuungana Mulindwa Mawasiliano Kikundi
"Pamoja na Yoweri Museveni, Ssabassajja na Dk. Kiiza Besigye, Uganda ni
katika machafuko"
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