Former PM Stephen Harper says Americans are winners in USMCA
Posted October 9, 2018 11:50 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
OTTAWA (1310 NEWS) — If there is a winner in the new trade agreement between Canada, U.S. and Mexico, it appears a former prime minister is giving that title to the Americans.
It’s been over a week since the tentative trade agreement was struck, but in an appearance on Fox Business, former Prime Minister Stephen Harper is now weighing in, saying he thinks it is a good deal for the U.S., especially when it comes to auto concessions from Mexico.
“You know, I am not going to dispute. I think the President got a pretty good deal for the United States,” Harper says. “Content requirements and wage provisions and a number of other things.”
He didn’t really address the impact on Canada or our concessions in the dairy sector. He did however say he hopes all three countries can now focus on the trade imbalance with China, saying the Chinese have growing access here, but it’s the opposite when we try and do business there.
“We can only sell what the Chinese say we can sell, when they say we can sell it and it what quantity,” Harper adds. “This is a serious problem for our workers. It’s not sue merely to normal economic factors, it’s due to the fact that the Chinese market is largely closed.”
Harper says China has been a much bigger trade threat than NAFTA when it comes to workers and business and says President Donald Trump’s trade target should have been China, not NAFTA.
