The actions the Prime Minister has mentioned here today, phone calls to the president, media releases, negotiations at the highest levels, are essentially political actions to deal with this problem.
When the government has taken the political route to dealing with trade disputes the U.S. has usually been the winner, as with the grain imports case. When Canada has used the practical and business like dispute settlement mechanism in NAFTA Canada has tended to be the winner.
Has the Prime Minister instructed his trade minister to launch an immediate challenge to the Helms-Burton bill under the dispute settlement mechanism of the NAFTA?