Talking to Americans: Premier Rachel Notley visits U.S. to talk trade
U.S.-Canada border adjustment tax 'remains a matter of significant debate'
Premier Rachel Notley kicked off her trip to Washington, D.C., this week with a flurry of meetings designed to remind policymakers of the importance of cross-border trade with Canada.
The premier is in Washington to talk trade with U.S. lawmakers and interest groups on her first official visit to the U.S. capitol under the Donald Trump administration.
The Alberta-U.S. trade relationship, which Notley valued at $84 billion last year, has come under pressure lately as some Republican politicians and industry groups have proposed levying a border adjustment tax on Canadian imports to protect some U.S. domestic industries.
"We had good conversations around the likelihood of a border adjustment tax," Notley told reporters on a conference call from Washington on Tuesday. "And the degree to which that is perceived as ultimately supporting the objectives of certain interests in the U.S., versus potentially being much more complicated and more difficult to actually apply in practice than originally thought.
"It remains a matter of significant debate here," Notley said.
'Uncertainty and volatility'
On Monday, the premier met with David MacNaughton, Canada`s ambassador to the United States. She also met with Governor Steve Bullock of Montana and Governor Matt Mead of Wyoming, along with Graco Ramirez, governor of the Mexican state of Morelos.
Alberta's energy trade with the U.S. has been top-of-mind throughout the premier's trip, at a time when many in the Canadian oil and gas industry are still trying to guess how their U.S. counterparts will respond to rebounding commodity prices and a new regulatory regime under President Trump.
"There is uncertainty and volatility out there," Notley said. "But where we have good relationships that create good jobs that are working, we shouldn't be doing anything to disrupt those."
Notley also met with the Heritage Foundation, a socially conservative think tank that appears to have a growing influence inside the Trump White House.
"You have to be able to build relationships and you have to be able to engage in dialogue with people, you know, in some cases you don`t agree on everything," Notley said of the meeting.
The premier also met with Montana Sen. Jon Tester. Notley told CBC Television that her government is focused on those U.S. border states that are most affected by trade with Canada.
Tester is a member of the Senate's Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs committee, which has jurisdiction over U.S border policy.
The premier told reporters she would meet directly with officials from the Trump administration on Wednesday, but declined to name who would participate in the meetings until she had received final confirmation of attendees.
"I can't speak to who we are or are not trying to get meetings with as of yet," Notley said Tuesday. "We are trying to meet with administration officials tomorrow."
Notley is in Washington until Wednesday afternoon.