Donald Trump’s four-year term in the White House has not been easy for the Trudeau government.
Posted at 5:00 am.
His victory in the presidential election in November 2017 surprised the entire government machinery in Ottawa. To adapt to the situation, changes had to be made quickly. Justin Trudeau conducted a major ministerial reshuffle in early 2017, notably removing Stéphane Dion from cabinet and putting Chrystia Freeland in charge of the Foreign Ministry and Canadian-American relations affairs, including the renegotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).
In his own office, Justin Trudeau created a rapid response group, then led by Brian Clow, a brilliant strategist who is now deputy chief of staff.
This group’s mission was to review the statements and decisions of President Trump and his administration and measure their impact on Canada. After months of difficult negotiations, marked by the threat of abandoning the trade agreement and the imposition of tariffs on Canadian aluminum exports, a new agreement was finally reached in November 2018.
PHOTO DAVID KAWAI, BLOOMBERG ARCHIVE
Mexican Economy Minister Ildefonso Guajardo Villarreal, former Canadian Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland and U.S. Trade Representative Bob Lighthizer leave the stage after a press conference on the third round of negotiations for the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) in Ottawa in September 2017.
The task force was disbanded after Joe Biden’s victory. But its key members are still in the Prime Minister’s Office. At the moment there are no plans to reunite this group.
Our strategy at the moment is not to make waves. We want to stay under the radar. In particular, we do not want the free trade agreement, for example, to become an issue in the presidential election campaign. This would definitely not be in our interest.
A government source who requested anonymity to speak more freely on the issue
The danger of protectionism
In his election manifesto, Donald Trump particularly proposes the introduction of tariffs of 10% on imports in order to protect the manufacturing sector in the USA. A protectionist impulse that could make life difficult for Canada. In the past, he has also attacked Canada’s dairy and poultry supply management program.
According to former diplomat Louise Blais, who notably served as Canada’s ambassador and deputy permanent representative to the United Nations in New York from 2017 to 2021, we must prepare for the possibility of a Donald Trump victory “without panic” and without clumsy statements about it , which could come back to haunt us.
PHOTO FROM WIKIMEDIA
Canadian diplomat Louise Blais in Washington in 2022
If Trump is re-elected, I don’t think it will be easy, but if we play our cards right next year, Canada can be ready to ride that wave.
Louise Blais, Ambassador and Deputy Permanent Representative of Canada to the United Nations (2017-2021)
Ms. Blais, who also served as Canadian Consul General in Atlanta, was responsible for establishing diplomatic relationships in North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Georgia, Alabama and Mississippi.
“I don’t have the impression that the renewal of the free trade agreement is in danger. It’s his deal after all. But that doesn’t mean we won’t have challenges countering American protectionism, as is the case with the current president. »
The diplomat, who managed to establish contacts with several members of Donald Trump’s entourage before his election victory, believes that we also have an interest in maintaining dialogue with the senators and representatives who have already pledged their support to Mr. Trump .
PHOTO JOSIE DESMARAIS, LA PRESSE ARCHIVE
“If the agreement [de libre-échange nord-américain] “It is ultimately thanks to Jean Charest that it was not torn up,” said Louise Blais, Ambassador and Deputy Permanent Representative of Canada to the United Nations (between 2017 and 2021).
“You really need to talk to these people” because they could play a role in the Trump administration if he gets another term. Ms. Blais cites as an example the close relationship that former Prime Minister Jean Charest developed with Sonny Perdue, the former Georgia governor who became agriculture secretary in the Trump administration.
important links
She recalls that it was Sonny Perdue, who knows Canada well, who intervened at the last minute with Donald Trump by going to the White House to get him to abandon the idea of scrapping the trade agreement between the United States, Canada and Canada to terminate Mexico at the beginning of his term.
“It is ultimately thanks to Jean Charest that the agreement was not torn up,” she said. According to the Washington Post, Mr. Perdue went to the president’s office to show him a map of the United States showing the regions that would be most affected by such a decision. Donald Trump then realized that several of the states and regions that would be most affected by such a decision had voted for him in the 2016 election.
Louise Blais believes Canada would have a strong interest in elected officials, whether in Ottawa or in the provinces, maintaining close relationships with their American counterparts, Republicans and Democrats, at all times, and not just when a crisis is looming.
After confronting some members of the Trump administration, Industry Minister François-Philippe Champagne reiterates that the Trudeau government has worked for three years to make Canada indispensable to the proper functioning of the American economy. In particular, investments in building a supply chain on the North American continent were increased in key sectors such as semiconductors, battery and electric vehicle manufacturing, biomanufacturing and critical minerals.
According to the minister, this strategy aims not only to reduce Canada’s dependence on authoritarian regimes in key sectors of the economy, but also to build a highly integrated supply chain between Canada and the United States to counteract any protectionist impulses from Washington.
PHOTO ALAIN ROBERGE, LA PRESS ARCHIVE
François-Philippe Champagne, Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry
It is promising for the future. If we can strategically integrate into these supply chains, we will ensure that economic and trade relations between the two countries are protected, regardless of who occupies the White House.
François-Philippe Champagne, Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry
“I think we have positioned ourselves well with this. In the minds of business leaders, there are three things they are concerned about: food security, energy security and supply chain resilience. We have made progress on these issues in recent years. »
This strategy was implemented smoothly. Time will tell if it brings the expected dividends.