Canada: Trade uncertainty to continue – Rabobank

Analysts at Rabobank note that yesterday, Canadian Prime Minister Trudeau once again emphasised that they will not sign a deal that will inherently be against Canada’s economic interests. 

Key Quotes

“Mr. Trudeau named a few aspects of the current draft agreement that prevent him from signing the proposal. As was already well-known, the first red line revolves around the anti-dumping panels. Canada considers these dispute panels essential to warrant fair trade.”

“A second issue is apparently Canada's cultural sector, which Trudeau wants to be exempt from not-NAFTA. Guess he's not a fan of Hollywood movies and US TV formats.”

“So as US-Canada trade negotiations continue, there is still enough to talk about. The persistent uncertainty with respect to NAFTA –disagreement about dispute panels almost prevented the original NAFTA accord from being signed as well– are weighing on markets. Equity indices on both sides of the border were down on the day.”