美国国家公共电台 NPR Canadian Prime Minister Talks Trade, Immigration In First Meeting With Trump

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DAVID GREENE, HOST:

President Donald Trump¹, today, is playing host to Canada's prime minister, Justin Trudeau. Canada is America's second-biggest trading partner. Hundreds of billions of dollars in trade across the border every year. But as NPR's Jackie Northam reports from Toronto, President Trump's tough talk about the future of NAFTA is raising some deep concerns up north.

JACKIE NORTHAM, BYLINE²: A bitterly cold wind blowing in off Lake Ontario doesn't deter³ skaters zipping around an ice rink outside Toronto City Hall. A different type of chill is coming in from the south. It's from President Trump, who has called NAFTA the worst trade deal ever and is threatening to rip up - or at least renegotiate it.

MARK MANGER: There is a very genuine fear here in Canada, and I think that - and Canadian autoworkers, in particular, are very worried about that.

NORTHAM: That's Canadian political scientist Mark Manger at the University of Toronto. He says NAFTA is not as contentious⁵ an issue in Canada as in the U.S. It's helped provide a lot of jobs, many in the auto⁴ industry.

MANGER: We're talking about over 100,000 jobs here in Canada that are essentially⁶ in the auto industry.

NORTHAM: And Canada wants to protect them. The policy seems to be lie low. Because, as former member of Parliament Barry Campbell explains...

BARRY CAMPBELL: Canada has not been in the crosshairs. We've not had a target on our back. The anti-trade rhetoric⁷ has been directed, first and foremost, at Mexico.

NORTHAM: Canada and the U.S. have had a trade relationship since long before NAFTA went into effect in 1994. And that trade is robust⁸. It topped half a trillion dollars in 2015. Campbell says three-quarters of Canada's exports go to the U.S., and 35 states count Canada as their leading export market.

CAMPBELL: Our two-way trade is roughly in balance, unlike U.S.-Mexico trade. So that argues in favor of leaving things the way they are.

NORTHAM: There's uncertainty⁹ whether Trump will want to leave things the way they are. A major concern is whether the U.S. will impose tariffs¹⁰, which could spark a trade war. To try and get ahead of any possible conflicts, the Canadian government has gone on a charm offensive, sending senior Cabinet members to Washington for meetings even before today's visit by Prime Minister Trudeau. Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland briefed reporters in a teleconference on her meetings.

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MINISTER OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS CHRYSTIA FREELAND: I came away from those conversations with an appreciation¹¹ of the extent to which the political debate in the United States is only beginning.

NORTHAM: Still, Freeland said she warned U.S. officials that Ottawa strongly opposes any new tariffs, which she said would be mutually harmful. There's concern that Canada may get swept up in any disagreement or trade war between the U.S. and Mexico. Canada's ambassador to the U.S., David MacNaughton, is on record saying Canada needs to avoid becoming, quote, "collateral¹² damage."

Former MP Barry Campbell says in no way should Ottawa be seen as abandoning Mexico. But...

CAMPBELL: I think you have to plan for the reality that you're dealing¹³ with. We have to balance outreach and engagement with this administration with protecting our own sovereign interests.

NORTHAM: A point which Prime Minister Trudeau is likely to drive home during his meeting with President Trump today.

Jackie Northam, NPR News, Toronto.

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