Premier MacLauchlan not worried by U.S. NAFTA objectives

P.E.I. will do its part to shore up good relations with the U.S. and point out the mutual benefits of the current North American Free Trade Agreement, says Premier Wade MacLauchlan.

'The main thing is to be on the lookout, to be alert to issues that might arise'

Sara Fraser · CBC News · Posted: Jul 18, 2017 7:00 PM EDT | Last Updated: July 18, 2017

'The good news is the things that aren't on the list,' of changes the U.S. wants to make to NAFTA, says P.E.I. Premier Wade MacLauchlan. (CBC)

P.E.I. will do its part to shore up good relations with the U.S. and point out the mutual benefits of the current North American Free Trade Agreement, says Premier Wade MacLauchlan.

Yesterday the Trump administration released its list of objectives for upcoming renegotiations of NAFTA — they include eliminating dispute resolution panels, exempting state and local governments from opening government contracts to bids from Canadian and Mexican firms, and dramatically raising the limit on American goods that can be shipped into Canada duty-free from $20 to $800.

"I think we have to be certainly on top of it," said MacLauchlan from Edmonton, where premiers and territorial leaders are holding their annual summer meetings.

"The main thing is to be on the lookout, to be alert to issues that might arise — it's a bit of a shopping list right now," he told CBC News: Compass's Kerry Campbell.

'A wide appreciation'

"The good news is the things that aren't on the list — for example, there's no discussion here about a border tax, so that's... a great relief to Prince Edward Island," MacLauchlan said.

The U.S. did not lay out any explicit plans to target Canada's supply management system for dairy, poultry and eggs, either.

"We feel that the Americans are quite alert to the gains that have been made through free trade on both sides in agriculture and there's a wide appreciation of that," said MacLauchlan, noting he and Canadian Agriculture Minister Lawrence MacAualy met in June with the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture, Sonny Perdue, and had positive talks.

The key, MacLauchlan believes, is continued advocacy and relationship-building with U.S. governors and businesses.

The premiers met for two hours Tuesday with Canada's U.S. ambassador David MacNaughton, MacLauchlan noted. The talks on NAFTA are expected to begin August 17.

'Prosperity on both sides'

New England Governors and Eastern Canadian premiers will hold their annual meeting on P.E.I. at the end of August, along with many businesses from the eastern U.S.

"That's where we have to keep making our point that there's prosperity on both sides, on all sides, that comes with making sure that we don't have the kinds of subsidies or barriers that prevent a proper exchange and a good trading relationship," MacLauchlan said.

P.E.I. exported about $1 billion with the U.S. in 2016, about 70 per cent of the Island's total exports, and MacLauchlan would like that to grow.

Last week, MacLauchlan said, he met with P.E.I.'s main exporters to the U.S. to make sure he was in tune with their concerns in advance of the meetings.