The Globe and Mail reports in its Saturday, Jan. 20, edition that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will visit three major U.S. cities next month to bolster support for NAFTA as negotiators revising the trade pact tackle major differences. A Reuters dispatch to The Globe reports that the timing of Mr. Trudeau's Feb. 7 to Feb. 10 trip is significant, since it comes after a sixth and penultimate round of talks in Montreal from Jan. 23 to Jan. 29 that Canadian insiders are billing as critical.
Canadian sources last week said they were increasingly convinced that President Donald Trump would fulfill a long-standing threat to pull out of the North American free-trade agreement. Mr.
Trudeau's office said the PM would visit Chicago, San Francisco and Los Angeles "to further strengthen the deep bonds" between the two nations.
One said the planned trip had been in the works for many months and described it as a continuation of Canada's outreach campaign in the United States to sell the merits of free trade.
The source said one goal of the trip was to build up support for NAFTA, saying Ottawa was pleased that more and more Americans were speaking up in favour of free trade.
© 2024 Canjex Publishing Ltd. All rights reserved.