From model-train exports to medicine: what's on the line for Canadians ahead of NAFTA talks

There's more to negotiating a trade deal than the closed door meetings between Canada, United States and Mexico.

A new trade agreement could have a huge impact on the movement of goods and capital across borders. It could also have an effect on the people who depend on those goods.

On Sunday, Cross Country Checkup guest host David Common spoke to some Canadians who are worried their jobs, businesses and health may be on the line.

Business derailed 

Pierre Oliver from St. Thomas, Ont. attracts a niche market with his high-end model train business. But as the NAFTA talks resume Wednesday, Oliver said a bilateral deal between the U.S. and Mexico — excluding Canada —could seriously hurt his business.

"I am worried that I'm going to lose my business if things get too difficult to move back and get across the border," Oliver said.

Oliver said his business has been slow since the trade war emerged between Canada and the U.S. earlier this year. 

Oliver said he's concerned that additional tariffs or duty levels on his products will make U.S. buyers less inclined to pay these fees. 

He added he would have to raise the prices on his model trains which would likely anger clients south of the border.

"Ninety five per cent of my clientele is based in the U.S," he said. "If a guy sees a package that shows up at his door and it's got an additional tariff or duty on it, he's not going to pay that."

Price-gouging pills

Doris Lund from Prince Albert, Sask. is worried changes to NAFTA's intellectual property rules could increase the price of her prescription drugs.

"As a senior I'm very concerned about our generic drugs and I hope we won't be denied access to those. And so, they have to be careful what rules they make with regard to patents," the 80-year-old said.

More stringent patent protection could mean a longer wait for some drugs to become available in cheaper, generic form.

The U.S Trade Representative's fact sheet on its deal with Mexico notes it features extended patent protection for biologic drugs.

Biologics are drugs such as antibodies derived from living organisms. Remicade — used to reduce inflammation in Crohn's disease, rheumatoid arthritis and other illnesses — is an example. 

The extended patent protection covers those drugs from generic competition for 10 years, instead of eight.

You have to make a choice, sometimes, between your food and your drugs- Doris Lund, Checkup caller

Lund said she spends $128 a month for one of the drugs she takes.  As she is a senior citizen on a fixed income, she's worried about the higher costs of her medicine. 

Lund said she is already struggling financially. "You have to make a choice, sometimes, between your food and your drugs."

Good for consumers, bad for business

Another issue in the NAFTA negotiations is a proposal by the U.S. to increase duty-free thresholds — the value of shipments that can be imported without duties or taxes — for online shoppers.

The U.S. has long fought to get both Canada and Mexico to raise their so-called "de minimus thresholds."  

In the new, tentative deal between U.S. and Mexico, Mexico has agree to double its duty-free threshold from $50 USD to $100 USD.

The U.S. has said it wants Canada to increase its threshold too, which has been set at $20 for years. The U.S. threshold is $800 USD.

An increase could help Canadian consumers but it's a concern for business owners like Marilyn Cobban.  

Cobban, from North Vancouver, owns a clothing chain called Blue Sky Clothing Co. She considers her business a specialty store because she designs and manufactures natural fibre clothing in a wide range of sizes.

However, with a new trade deal coming, she's worried a higher duty-free level will drive her customers to shop stateside, as there are more online retailers like hers based in the United States. 

"All we can do is just try and deliver a superior product and keep on letting people know that what we do is kind to the environment and kind to the people, because I pay all the sewers myself," she told Checkup.

Written by Samantha Lui and Mitchell Thompson. Files from CBC News.