Thank you.
Americans don't negotiate the way we do. You sit in a Parliament where the government responds. The Executive responds to Parliament, particularly when it is in a minority position.
In the United States, that is not at all the way things work. Some industries wield considerable power because there is no legislation in place regarding the funding of political parties, which would have the same impact as it does here. As a result, these industries have a direct connection to the legislative branch, which has considerably more influence over an issue such as this than does the executive branch. A number of U.S. senators have been in the service of the U.S. lumber industry for years now. As a result, every time the American government asks senators to change their mind, it's caught up in a system of IOUs.
For us as a neighbouring country with access to the U.S. market, this is a highly complex environment in which to have to operate. From time to time, we are required to make compromises demanded by the American political system, as opposed to the desire of an economic partner to agree or refuse to play according to the rules. The reality of the American political system is such that we must accept a certain amount of vulnerability. Paradoxically, that is also true for U.S. domestic industries which are forever having to deal with complex lobbies with connections to legislative and executive branches.
Under the circumstances, I think Canada played its cards brilliantly. It took years to come this far and it required a tremendous amount of determination over the last few months to secure this agreement. This is not an agreement that flows from a sense of resentment. It contains some real gains for Canada, for the Quebec industry and for the Canadian industry.