THE TTALK QUOTES


On Global Trade & Investment
Published Three Times a Week (with occasional bonus quotes) by
The Global Business Dialogue, Inc.
Washington, DC  Tel: 202-559-9316
No.21 of 2020
SATURDAY, MARCH 28, 2020

Click HERE for Monday's quote from the
Department of Homeland Security on U.S. borders.
THE VIRUS AND TRADE - AN UPBEAT CONNECTION

 "Getting NAFTA [USMCA] done was something that was entirely within the power of Canadian legislators to do and something we were able to do to help the Canadian economy at this challenging time."

Chrystia Freeland
March 13, 2020
CONTEXT
Canada was the last to ratify the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, USMCA. Mexico was first. The Mexican Senate approved the deal twice: first on June 19, 2019, when the vote was114 to 3, and then again on December 12, 2019, when the vote was 107 to 1. The second vote was to take account of the changes in the agreement that had been insisted upon by the U.S. House of Representatives.    

Next came the United States. After more than a little uncertainty over the fate of the implementing bill in the Democrat-controlled House of Representatives, President Trump signed it into law on January 26, 2020.

Then on March 13, 2020, Canada acted, and it acted quickly. In that one day, C-4, an “Act to implement the agreement between Canada, The United States of America and the United Mexican States,” cleared the Canadian House of Commons, passed the Senate, and was given Royal assent by the former astronaut and now Governor General Julie Payette.

Canada’s foreign minister in the USMCA negotiation and now Deputy Prime Minister, Chrystia Freeland, was the Canadian midwife of the new NAFTA, which could be implemented within the next three or four months. It was always reasonable to assume – most people did assume – that ultimately Canada would approve implementing legislation for USMCA – CUSMA in anglophone Canada. No special circumstances required. When the votes came on March 13, however, USMCA was inextricably linked to the extraordinary circumstances of the coronavirus. Everything was. 

Certainly Chrystia Freeland was. Just a week before seeing the USMCA bill, C-4, through Parliament, she was named as Canada’s point person on the virus and chair of the Cabinet Committee on COVID-19, dealing with both the health and economic effects of the pandemic. And C-4 was only part of a very busy legislative day, one which included passage of key financial legislation as well as the decision to suspend further work in Parliament until April 20 at the earliest.
COMMENT
Last Monday’s TTALK dealt with the March 20 announcement that America’s borders with both Mexico and Canada would be closed to non-essential traffic beginning on March 21. That entry went on to talk a bit about developments in Mexico. Our thought then was that this next one would talk about development at the U.S.-Canada border. As today’s featured quote makes clear, we decided instead to give priority to Parliament’s heroic effort to speed USMCA ratification to the statute books in a whirlwind day of activity on March 13. Still, a word or two about the Canadian border is in order. These developments come to mind. 

Border Traffic. The first is the U.S.-Canada announcement of March 20 mentioned above. The effects of that were almost immediate. According to one report, car traffic over the Peace Bridge – the bridge that links Buffalo with Fort Erie, Ontario – was down 72 percent compared to “the corresponding weekend a year earlier.” Truck traffic, however, was only down by 8 percent. Considering that normal commercial traffic was specifically exempted, those results are not surprising. The surprise, if there is one, is that the truck traffic is still relatively robust. One can only wonder how that traffic will be affected now that General Motors has been ordered to ramp up production of ventilators.

Canada’s border restrictions, of course, are not limited to the agreement with the United States. On March 17, the Canadian government closed that country’s borders to most foreigners, though they exempted Americans.

Troops on the Border.  The Trump administration had suggested it might be necessary to put U.S. troops on the U.S.-Canadian Border, as another means of stemming border crossings by potentially infected souls. The Canadians pushed back strongly against that idea, which has been shelved, at least for now.

Quarantined People.  The coronavirus has not passed over the powerful and their families. Prime Minister Trudeau’s wife, Stephanie Grégoire Trudeau tested positive for the virus on March 12, after which both she and the Prime Minister entered a period of self-quarantine. Across the pond, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson tested positive for the virus on Friday (March 27), and he too is now under quarantine.

A New Ambassador.  Notwithstanding the flap over the troops on the border issue, our impression is that the U.S.-Canada relationship is more likely to be strengthened than weakened by this global crisis. In that spirit, we’ll end with a comment from Her Excellency Kirsten Hillman.  Last Wednesday, Ms. Hillman was the acting Canadian ambassador to the United States. On Thursday, March 26, Prime Minister Trudeau appointed her ambassador, making her the first woman to hold that position. In a statement issued immediately following her appointment, Ambassador Hillman wrote:

“Canada has no closer friend and ally than the United States. Our connections are enduring and profound. The close personal, economic and security ties between our people are at the heart of our extraordinary relationship.”

SOURCES & LINKS
CANADA RATIFIES is a March 13 report on this development from the Washington Examiner. This was the source for today’s TTALK Quote.
 
FROM PARLIAMENT HILL is a link to a CBC article on the legislation passed in Canada on March 13.

CANADA’S COVID-19 CABINET MEETING is a link to the March 4 announcement of the creation of this committee, which is being chaired by Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland.

DPA INVOKED is a link to March 27 Wall Street Journal article on the President’s order to General Motors under the Defense Production Act to make more ventilators.   

FROM CANADA’S NEW AMBASSADOR is a link to the statement issued by Ambassador Hillman following her appointment to that position by Prime Minister Trudeau on March 26.

PROPOSAL DROPPED is a Wall Street Journal article on the back-and-forth between the U.S. and Canada over a proposal to station U.S. troops on the border.

ACROSS THE BRIDGE is an article from The Buffalo News on the drop in bridge traffic following the closer of the U.S.-Canada border to non-essential traffic.

BORIS JOHNSON INFECTED is a CNN report on this development.

IN THREE COUNTRIES is the Wikipedia entry on USMCA and includes a discussion of the ratification process in Mexico, the United States, and Canada.

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