International Trade committee  Yes. First of all, with respect to what Canada has brought to the table, we have put forward an initial proposal that is drawn in large part from the outcome in CETA on investment dispute resolution, but have faced resistance for the proposal from Mexico and from the U.S. The

International Trade committee  We are working on an energy chapter. Again, the U.S. is somewhat resistant to having an energy chapter, but we're including provisions that we're putting forward to try to modernize that chapter in particular. The proportionality clause is one that also will exist in the chapter

International Trade committee  Yes. This is something we put a lot of effort into in the negotiations. The first chapter we completed was the chapter on small and medium-sized enterprises. That chapter is oriented primarily toward finding ways to allow small and medium-sized enterprises to take advantage of th

International Trade committee  One of the messages we have received probably more than any other from stakeholders is about smoothing the process for getting goods and services and people back and forth across the border. NAFTA was originally negotiated 23 years ago, and the world has changed quite a bit. Ther

International Trade committee  We certainly have been doing our due diligence in thinking about what would happen if the U.S. were to withdraw from NAFTA, and certainly we're not looking to that kind of result. We are hoping to convince the U.S. to stay within NAFTA, but clearly, if they do choose to withdraw,

International Trade committee  Yes, I would fully agree with that assessment. In the negotiations, we did put forward a very ambitious proposal on labour. We worked closely with the labour unions on that proposal as we developed it. We are coming to the table with an approach that does rely heavily on the In

International Trade committee  I think that's probably one of our biggest concerns. That type of U.S. proposal, even if modified somewhat, would render the North American market significantly less competitive in relation to the rest of the world. North America obviously competes with the European Union and pro

International Trade committee  It's absolutely essential. That kind of outreach work is what will make the difference between whether we can advance in the right direction in this negotiation or not, because we are getting these kinds of proposals from the U.S. administration and we're seeing a lot of oppositi

International Trade committee  From my perspective, the most important element is timing. It's about when to go. The U.S. Congress has been preoccupied with tax reform of late, which is quite a distraction from the trade issues, and I think that at least in the minds of many in Congress, there has been a sense

International Trade committee  We've certainly seen trade expand considerably over the course of the years since NAFTA has come into effect. I think it has quadrupled with the U.S., and certainly it has increased by significant margins with Mexico as well, particularly in the agriculture and agrifood sector. I

International Trade committee  If the U.S. did withdraw from NAFTA, then the Canada-U.S. free trade agreement—which, as you mentioned, is currently under suspension—would come into effect. It may take a presidential proclamation to initiate that process on the U.S. side. We would probably both have to make reg

International Trade committee  There are certainly two elements to that aspect. The current regional value content is 62.5%, which is the highest in any free trade agreement around the world already. If it were to be moved to 85%, our view is that auto manufacturers would not be able to access enough of thei

International Trade committee  Thank you very much. Good afternoon, everyone, and thank you, Mr. Chair. I'm Steve Verheul, Canada's chief negotiator for the NAFTA negotiations, and, as mentioned, assistant deputy minister of the trade policy and negotiations branch at Global Affairs Canada. As you also mentio

Public Accounts committee  Yes, certainly. We require individual permits for any imports of any of the supply-managed products. Given that we do this on a separate track, we now have been providing regular information to CBSA to allow them to make sure they can track that at the border, to ensure those pro

Public Accounts committee  Well, we only put this most recent process in place in September, so we're still waiting to assess the results. We certainly have that expectation.