WASHINGTON - Former lawmakers, diplomats and business leaders from Canada, the U.S. and Mexico are gathering in Washington to explore an enduring political conundrum in Washington -- the likely fate of the new North American trade pact.
The day-long event, hosted by the Canadian American Business Council, includes a number of past and present diplomats and political figures from all three countries discussing how to expedite passage of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Trade Agreement.
U.S. President Donald Trump is, of course, top of mind: former New York congressman Joe Crowley, who lost his nomination last year to rising star Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, says Trump has "weaponized" the issue of trade, alienating two powerful U.S. allies in the process.
Gordon Giffin and Jim Blanchard, two former U.S. ambassadors to Canada, shared a panel with former Canadian envoy Gary Doer, all three of whom called on the White House to lift its tariffs on steel and aluminum.
And they also agreed the deal -- still awaiting ratification on Capitol Hill, with a number of Democrats and Republicans saying they won't support it in its current form -- can't be passed until those tariffs are lifted.
Democrats in particular say the agreement lacks labour and environmental enforcement, and some don't like its extended drug-patent protections, but U.S. officials say those concerns will have to be dealt with in so-called side letters or the bill Congress votes on to enact the deal.
