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TPP trade deal 'doomed'

Former prime minister Brian Mulroney says the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal is doomed to fail because of hostility in the U.S. Congress and widespread antipathy to trade initiatives in general.

Mulroney made the prediction Wednesday when he was asked about Hillary Clinton's opposition to the 12-nation accord, which the Democratic presidential nominee says benefits drug companies and does not address currency manipulation.

"The TPP is not going to fly anyway," Mulroney said after taking part in a ceremony to formally announce plans for the Brian Mulroney Institute of Government at his alma mater, St. Francis Xavier University in Antigonish, N.S.

"It has nothing to do with Canada. It appears to be on pretty shaky ground in the American Congress."

Mulroney said the deal won't survive mainly because of "hostility" among U.S. lawmakers.

"That's why I've been urging the government of Canada to negotiate bilateral agreements with China, India and so on," he said. "Canada's fine, but we have to get out there and hustle and do some more of these bilateral trade agreements."

In the late 1980s, Mulroney wagered his political career on the bilateral Free Trade Agreement with the United States, which evolved into the North American Free Trade Agreement with Mexico.

The 77-year-old former politician was quick to extol the virtues of NAFTA, saying it raised living standards in Mexico and reversed the exodus of Mexicans to the United States.



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