What Carney should pitch Trump in D.C. to restart trade talks

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Mark Carney heads to Washington — but not the White House — on Friday, yet he should use this brief encounter with Donald Trump to put trade on the table.

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Carney will be attending the World Cup draw that determines which countries play in which cities in next year’s tournament.

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As the leader of a host country along with the United States and Mexico, Carney will be at the drawing at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.

I’m sure all three leaders will be on stage together; they may pass in the hallways or spend time in the green room. In addition, the PMO confirms that Carney will have brief meetings, emphasis on brief, with both Trump and Mexico’s Claudia Sheinbaum.

What Carney must do to restart stalled trade talks

Carney has an opportunity to kickstart talks that have been stalled since October, here’s what he should do:

– Offer to sit down with Trump to hash out a high-level framework for an agreement that covers trade, critical minerals and defence – including the Golden Dome and the arctic.

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– As a gesture of goodwill, tell him that American booze will return to Canadian store shelves early in the New Year. Yes, he will need to convince some premiers, but that’s his job.

– On autos, commit to increasing the percentage of American parts found in every Canadian built car, in exchange for dropping tariffs. This is something the industry can handle with ease and something that would still benefit both countries.

– Commit unequivocally to buying the F-35, playing political games on this issue isn’t helping our trade talks, and it is not good for our military, including for recruitment.

– Lay out a plan to fast track the extraction and processing of critical mineral facilities in Ontario, Alberta and Quebec with special access for American companies and the American military, but only as part of a comprehensive trade deal that doesn’t include tariffs.

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– Offer to work with the American tech sector to deal with the irritants contained in the Online Streaming Act and other policies being put forward by this government.

These are some of the actions that Carney could take to get Trump and his team back to the table. All of them are goodwill gestures to the Americans that are beneficial to Canada’s economy as well.

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USMCA uncertainty puts more pressure on Carney

Right now, Trump isn’t committed to renewing the USMCA, or CUSMA as we call it here, something he made clear in comments Wednesday in the White House.

“It expires in about a year. We’ll either let it expire or maybe work out another deal with Mexico and Canada,” Trump said before going on to accuse Canada and Mexico of treating the United States badly on trade over the years.

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That’s a standard talking point, his claim that he may walk away from CUSMA isn’t exactly new, it’s been floated several times over the last year, he’s just being more forthright about it now. And while the deal is up for renewal and review next year, it technically runs until 2030.

That said, Trump could pull out of it next year if he wanted to. Treaties only work as long as the countries who have signed onto them are respecting the terms of the deal.

Canada can’t walk away from the U.S. relationship

There are many Canadians who want to sever ties with the United States, to end the relationship, and they’ve been egged on by Prime Minister Carney. That’s not realistic and while we absolutely should expand and diversify our trade ties, that will take time and no amount of trade with Europe or Asia will fully replace our trade with our next-door neighbours.

The smart thing for Carney to do is lean into the fact that Trump likes him, make a quick elevator pitch and then get serious about striking a deal.

Canadian jobs are depending on him doing just that.

blilley@postmedia.com

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