NAFTA: good luck with that

Photo: The Canadian Press

Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland 

Some of Canada's key demands in the upcoming NAFTA renegotiation will be a tough sell in the United States, according to former American trade officials who say they will be difficult to achieve in the climate of a Donald Trump, America First-themed presidency.

The Canadian government has just released priorities for the talks which begin Wednesday and they include a broad desire for four new chapters, and two specific demands: fewer Buy American rules for public contracts and freer movement of professionals.

It's the latter two some see as a long shot.

That includes a former official who oversaw procurement at the United States Trade Representative. Speaking in an interview a few days before Canada formally announced its positions, Stephen Kho explained why it's always been difficult to extend free trade in procurement to the state and local level, as Canada wants.

Canada has long desired a similar level of access to contracts at the subnational level that it enjoys at the federal level — and it mostly failed to get that in negotiations for the now-stalled Trans-Pacific Partnership.

Kho says he doesn't see how this changes now.

American politics is moving in the opposite direction: Trump was elected on a promise to increase Buy American rules, not reduce them; it's even a stated U.S. priority for the new NAFTA; the opposition is also with Trump on this, with Democratic lawmakers calling for NAFTA to allow less foreign procurement, not more.

"It might be a problem," said Kho, who was lead counsel on Buy American/procurement issues at USTR and now works at the Akin Gump firm.

"It's particularly going to be true of the Trump administration. It's made it a point, very publicly, of tightening up the exceptions rules, waivers ... (and proclaiming) America First. That will make it particularly difficult — and it's difficult already."

He said it's always good to talk about new ideas, but: "I don't think expectations should be too high for this being liberalized further."