United States President Donald Trump has said many times that the U.S. doesn’t need anything from Canada, but Pete Hoekstra , the U.S. ambassador to Canada, said what his boss is really saying is that “we’re open to offers; make your case.”
On Wednesday, Trump said he would not renew the Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA) , a trade deal that has been shielding a lot of Canadian exports from a large portion of U.S. tariffs.
But Hoekstra said Canada should look at this optimistically.
“With all the resources that you have … go into these negotiations very aggressively and say we know America has needs across the board and we are here to partner with America and fill those needs,” he said at the U.S.-Canada Summit in Toronto. “You maybe don’t like the way the president says it, but … what he’s saying is, We’re open to offers; make your case.’”
For example, Trump often says the U.S. doesn’t need cars from Canada, but Hoekstra said that’s because it can get them from Japan, Mexico and South Korea.
“But if Canada puts on their sales hat, they can make a very, very compelling case that if America needs a single car coming into the United States from somewhere else in the world, the best place to get that car from is Canada,” he said.
Some of those selling points could include the auto sector’s integrated system, similar labour forces, similar working and environmental standards and pay scales, he said.
Hoekstra also said the U.S. is waiting for Canada to respond in CUSMA negotiations.
“Once Canada clearly outlines its direction and what it wants from the negotiations, I think that we can do some great things,” he said.
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