Trump and Trudeau commit to cargo pre-clearance, Gordie Howe International Bridge

Trump says NAFTA with Canada only needs to be “tweaked”

CTA Feb. 13, 2017: The inaugural meeting (yesterday) between US President Donald Trump and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau appeared cordial and constructive, which was the desired outcome for many Canadian business groups, says the Canadian Trucking Alliance.

There was no specific mention of NAFTA in the joint release issued by the two leaders. Instead, it affirmed “the importance of building on (the) existing strong foundation for trade and investment and further deepening our relationship, with the common goal of strengthening the middle class.”

Specifically, the joint statement included a couple of substantive issues of interest to the trucking industry. In discussing a shared focus on infrastructure investments, the two leaders said they “look forward to the expeditious completion of the Gordie Howe International Bridge, which will serve as a vital economic link between our two countries.”

 Also noteworthy was Trump’s and Trudeau’s statement recognizing “the success of pre-clearance operations for travelers” and their commitment “to establishing pre-clearance operations for cargo.”

As for how current trade agreements between Canada and the U.S. would be addressed at the inaugural meeting, both leaders voiced strong support of enhancing the longstanding relationship.

“The United States and Canada also recognize the importance of cooperation to promote economic growth, provide benefits to our consumers and businesses, and advance free and fair trade. We will continue our dialogue on regulatory issues and pursue shared regulatory outcomes that are business-friendly, reduce costs, and increase economic efficiency without compromising health, safety, and environmental standards. We will work together regarding labour mobility in various economic sectors,” the statement read.

In the press conference that followed the meeting, the President spoke about the “outstanding” Canada-US trade relationship. When asked about past comments related to NAFTA, he suggested that “tweaks” could be undertaken to improve the border for both countries. He described the U.S.’ trade relationship between Canada to be “much less severe” than the situation at the southern border.

The two leaders, not surprisingly, agreed that border security continues to be “a top priority,” but struck a balanced tone in terms of security versus trade.

“Together, we address security at our shared border and throughout our two countries, while expediting legitimate and vital cross-border trade and travel. We demonstrate daily that security and efficiency go hand-in-hand, and we are building a 21st century border through initiatives such as pre-clearance of people and integrated cross-border law enforcement operations.”

David Bradley, CEO of the Canadian Trucking Alliance, said his 4,500 member companies “will be greatly relieved by what we heard today.”

 “This creates a good foundation for moving forward on initiatives to jointly grow our economies in the spirit of cooperation that has defined the Canada-US relationship for over 200 years,” he said. “The opportunities to deploy state of the art infrastructure and technology – starting with key projects like the Gordie Howe International Bridge – to ensure that both security and trade facilitation is improved are immense. We are encouraged by what we heard today.”

Prior to the two leaders’ meeting the CTA joined a group of about 40 leading Canada-U.S. business associations, companies, and policy experts in issuing a joint statement laying out the general principles that should guide the management of the world’s largest security, trade, and cultural relationship.

The statement – dubbed the Columbus Statement on U.S.-Canadian Relations – arose out of a June 2016 meeting on the campus of Ohio State University to discuss the future of Canada-U.S. relations throughout the tenure of the incoming U.S. administration. It calls for the respective leaders to address innovation; expanded labour mobility; regulatory alignment; border security; trade and travel facilitation and cooperation; enhancing the role of states, provinces, and municipalities; and addressing Canada-U.S. in the global context. The principal author of the statement was Christopher Sands of the School of Advanced International Studies at Johns Hopkins University in Washington.

In addition to CTA, which is a federation of the provincial trucking associations representing over 4,500 companies, signatories include the Chambers of Commerce of both countries as well as several bilateral trade organizations, such as the Canadian-American Business Council (Washington, DC); the North American Strategy for Competitiveness (Dallas, TX); the Canadian Business Association of North Carolina (Raleigh, NC); the Canada Arizona Business Council (Phoenix, AZ); and the Canada-US Law Institute (Cleveland, OH).

“It is noteworthy the statement of principles emanated out of the United States and its signatories are from across both Canada and the U.S.,” says David Bradley, CTA’s CEO. “Trucks haul two-thirds by value of Canada-US trade; so, anything that might disrupt that trade – whether it’s about scrapping NAFTA, a border tax, or further layers of border security – is of real concern to us.

“Moreover, anything that thickens the border and makes supply chains less reliable and predictable would have a profound impact on the competitiveness of both countries.”

Bradley says a truck crosses the Canada-US border about once every two and half seconds. He adds that over 40 per cent of the trade between Canada and the U.S. is intra-corporate.

“Simply put, Canada and the U.S. build things together,” Bradley says. “A piston, for example, can cross the border seven or eight times during the manufacturing process. Our economies are that integrated.

“Canada-US trade is balanced,” he continued. “It’s based on mutual competencies and rules-based on trade – not cheap labour or advantages conveyed by shirking safety and environmental considerations.”

The Columbus Statement on U.S.-Canadian Relations is available here.