Carney Faces Backlash Over Vague US Trade Concessions as 1 Key Deal Nears
Updated
Updated · National Post · Aug 21
Carney Faces Backlash Over Vague US Trade Concessions as 1 Key Deal Nears
2 articles · Updated · National Post · Aug 21
Summary
Mark Carney is under fire for offering few details on Canada-US trade talks even as signals from Washington suggest a deal is close and Canadian concessions may already be on the table.
US officials, not Ottawa, have supplied many of the specifics, with reported sticking points including provincial bans on US alcohol, supply management, digital streaming taxes and buy-Canadian policies.
Trump has floated reviving Keystone XL as part of a possible agreement, while Ambassador Pete Hoekstra earlier said negotiators had been close to a deal covering oil, uranium, auto parts, steel and aluminum.
Carney’s earlier claims that the old US relationship was over and his 'elbows up' messaging now risk colliding with the compromises trade talks require, potentially angering supporters he primed for a harder line.
The broader political danger is that even a commercially beneficial agreement could be framed at home as capitulation because the government kept negotiations opaque while leaning on anti-American rhetoric.