‘Canada stays’: Insiders say no change in strategy if Trump starts NAFTA pullout
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump’s escalating threat to trigger NAFTA’s cancellation clause as a high-pressure bargaining tactic has raised the question of what Canada’s response might be in the face of a gun-to-the-temple negotiating strategy.
Several insiders say the correct answer is: Nothing.
Canada should remain at the bargaining table and likely will, for its own strategic reasons, say several insiders, including Canada’s chief negotiator for the original NAFTA, the head of the Commons foreign affairs committee, and a cross-border trade lawyer.
Their reasoning is shared by some high-ranking officials in the Canadian government who believe the country’s interests are best served by calmly sticking it out rather than stomping off and augmenting the presidential drama.