Justin Trudeau's meeting with Donald Trump in Washington on Thursday, June 20, 2019, is set to be a deal-making session that could turn on an exchange of favours on North American trade and the plight of two imprisoned Canadians in China.
Mexico's ambassador to Canada says his country will formally ratify the new North American trade deal within the next two weeks after having overcome its latest tariff drama with the United States by then.
Canada's trade minister is endorsing a European Union plan to set up an alternative to the World Trade Organization's appeals panel, in case a U.S. refusal to appoint new members paralyzes it by the end of the year.
President Donald Trump says he has enough Democratic support to ratify the new North American free-trade pact despite his feud with U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, the Democrat who controls the agenda in the House of Representatives.
Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland says Canada has kept its privileged access to the U.S. market even as the new North American trade deal hangs in the balance.
The Trudeau government is promising billions of dollars to compensate dairy, egg and poultry farmers hurt by Canada's recent free-trade agreements — industries concentrated in vote-rich Quebec and Ontario.
Mexico's Congress will be asked to approve a major labour-reform bill this spring as a necessary step to ratifying the new North American free-trade pact later this autumn, say Mexican officials.
After pushing American politicians hard to try to salvage the old North American Free Trade Agreement, Canada is leaving it up to them whether they approve its replacement.