Report: Canada Believes Trump Will Scuttle NAFTA

The Canadian government is growing more certain that President Donald Trump intends to abandon the North American Free Trade Agreement, sources tell Bloomberg News.

Five rounds of negotiations last year failed to resolve U.S. demands for higher local content requirements, the ability to unilaterally impose tariffs and a new rule requiring that the entire agreement be renegotiated every five years.

A sixth and presumed final round of talks will begin on Jan. 23 in Montreal. But Canada and Mexico have declared previously that they won’t even consider several of the U.S. proposals, including higher content requirements.

Pundits suggest both sides are posturing to win concessions. Bloomberg notes that even a Trump notice to quit NAFTA could raise Congressional opposition.

The auto industry agrees that some aspects of the 24-year-old pact would benefit from updates. But it contends that scrapping the accord would create far more damage than good, and would eventually reduce rather that add jobs in the U.S.

Separately, Canada has filed a broad complaint with the World Trade Organization about more than 20 years of what it claims have been illegal U.S. trade practices. The complaint also accuses the U.S. International Trade Commission of bias because a tie vote by its six commissions automatically results in a finding for the U.S. position.​​