President Trump said Tuesday that U.S. trade negotiators are “dealing in good faith” with Canada, as deadlines loom for the White House to give Congress the text of a trade deal to replace the North American Free Trade Agreement.
Trump made the remark in the Oval Office as he addressed hurricane preparedness, confronting a perception among Canadian officials that he has not been working in good faith during talks to replace NAFTA.
Last month, Trump told Bloomberg reporters in leaked off the record remarks that he intended to give no concessions to Canada after striking a deal with Mexico, but that he could not say so publicly. It’s unclear who leaked the remarks, and there’s broad suspicion Trump was involved.
Talks with Canada continued despite the leak, with Trump declaring “at least Canada knows where I stand.” Disagreements reportedly remain, notably over Canada’s dairy system.
The White House notified Congress on Aug. 31 that Trump intends “to enter into a trade agreement with Mexico — and with Canada if it is willing,” leaving the door open for including both countries in a NAFTA replacement.
The full text of the deal is due to Congress within a month of that notification under fast-track trade deal procedures, giving urgency to the remaining Canada talks.
Many business groups in the U.S., including the Chamber of Commerce, prefer for NAFTA to be replaced with another three-country deal, rather than bilateral ones.
Trump said Tuesday that Canada could be included in the deal about to be sent to Congress, but restated his often-made claim to be fine if that doesn’t happen.
“With Canada, they want to make a deal very much. Me, if we make it, that’s good. If we don’t make it, that’s okay too,” Trump said. “Canada wants to make a deal, we’ll see if we can get them into the deal we already have with Mexico. I think the deal with Canada is coming along very well. We’ve all been dealing in good faith.”
