Take note Theresa! PM May must learn Brexit lessons from Canada's trade talks with US

Colin Horgan said the Prime Minister should take tips
from how Canada negotiated with the US over the
North American Free Trade Agreement (Nafta) as she
steers Britain out of the Brussels club.
During her visit to Ottawa this week, Mrs May must
take the opportunity to learn how Mr Trudeau
negotiates with a “more powerful neighbour”, Mr
Horgan said.
Mrs May is flying to Canada today to lay the
foundations for a post-Brexit trade deal .
Comparing and contrasting the UK’s decision to leave
the EU with Trump’s decision to overhaul Nafta, Mr
Horgan said: “The unprecedented trade talks
requested by both Trump and the Brexiters have
arrived, and the way by which both Canada and the UK
have approached negotiations is a study in contrasts –
one that could be instructive for May.
Theresa May flies to
Canada to thrash out
post-Brexit trade
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Theresa May set to
show up EU by
securing MULTIPLE
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“Trump has made it clear that he believes Nafta to be
'the worst trade deal ever signed'. The goal, as far as
Trump is concerned? Regain control.
“As with similar promises from Brexiters, the
impossibilities of such economic independence were
totally ignored in favour of rhetoric.”
Mr Horgan hinted Mrs May would find it useful to
accept and establish Britain’s role in the relationship,
as does Canada who accepts it is a “junior partner in
its relationship”.
Writing for the Guardian, he said: “Whether Canada
bargains at the Nafta table from a position of strength
or weakness depends on who you ask and when, but
the overall picture is that of an uneven partnership.
Brexit trade talks in pictures:
UK Ministers explore
potential trade deals
Tue, July 25, 2017
Latest pictures as Britain's Ministers started
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PLAY
British Secretary of State for International Trade
Liam Fox delivers remarks on 'The Future of UK
Trade Policy' at the American Enterprise Institute
[AFP/Getty Images]
AFP/GETTY IMAGES 1 of 14
“The
US
claims
it
carries
a trade
deficit
with
Canada
(it does not), but the overall Canadian economy
depends more on America than the other way around.
But this allows Canada to naturally land a key mental
leap – one the Brexiters in May’s government should
study.
“That is, while Canada has long accepted its lot as a
junior partner in its relationship with the US, it also
knows doing so doesn’t necessarily mean it’s not in a
position of considerable power or influence. It all
depends on the approach.”
As relations sour beteen top Brussels bureaucrats and
Mrs May, Mr Horgan said the US President and Mr
Trudeau “share what is, at least in public, a congenial
relationship”.
Directing advice to Mrs May, he said: “Trudeau is
cautious to never sound like he’s attacking the
president directly, and Trudeau’s inner circle has
worked to establish friendly ties with his closest
advisers.”
Theresa May is visiting Canada to lay the foundations
for a post-Brexit trade deal
Mr Horgan urged Britain to accept a “simultaneous fate
of creating a lopsided economic relationship”.
He added: “With their vote to split from the EU, Britons
perhaps unknowingly accepted a simultaneous fate of
creating a lopsided economic relationship, with the UK
dependent on the EU’s moves, rather than the other
way around.
“In a way, Britons voted for the UK to become the
Canada of Europe. Maybe it’s time it started acting
like it.”
A new trade deal between the EU and Canada is due
to come into effect on September 21, eliminating 98
per cent of Canadian import duties, in what Downing
Street describes as a "significant boon" for UK
exporters.
But when Britain leaves the EU , it will fall out of the
Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement
(Ceta), which was championed by the UK and took
seven years to negotiate.
Mrs May hopes to use Ceta as a model for a new
bilateral arrangement between Britain and Canada to
be introduced "swiftly" after Brexit.
Under the terms of its EU membership, the UK cannot
seal a free trade agreement with an outside country
before its departure, though it remains unclear whether
this will be possible during the "transition period"
expected to last two or three years after the official
date of Brexit in March 2019.
Speaking ahead of her visit, Mrs May said that Canada
and the UK form a "powerful union" when they work
together on priorities like free trade.
"My visit to Canada is not only about recognising our
past but also looking ahead to our bright future.
"We are both countries with ambitions to lead on the
world stage and progressive values that underpin those
ambitions, values including the importance of free
trade, and respect for international law.
"When we come together and work as one to project
our shared values on the world stage, we form a
powerful union."

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