Canadian Chamber of Commerce

1700-275 Slater Street,

Ottawa, ON, K1P 5H9 

Dear Ron:

We are delighted to learn of a deal in principle for a renewed trade agreement between the U.S., Mexico and Canada. This is a step forward, but as with any trade agreement of this breadth and scope, we will want to carefully review the details before making a final assessment. Specifically, we will seek clarity on how the agreement addresses the existing tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminium, as well as how it will ensure that tariffs and quotas upon Canada’s auto sector exports will be avoided.

We congratulate Minister Freeland and Canada’s negotiating team for delivering an agreement that remains trilateral, which will continue to deliver prosperity for Canada, and for doing so under extraordinarily challenging conditions.

While we applaud the achievement of an agreement, Canada must remember the lesson this turbulent period has provided: we must never again allow ourselves to be overly-dependent upon one trading partner. We must continue to diversify our markets to protect ourselves from capricious and unfair actions in the future. For Canada to prosper as a trading nation, we must overhaul our regulatory and taxation frameworks, which are hindering the competitiveness of Canadian businesses.

Click here to read our full statement.