Despite tough words from U.S. President Donald Trump about re-negotiating NAFTA to get a better deal for America, Canada remains in a strong position, according to former foreign affairs minister Lloyd Axworthy.

Earlier this week, U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland spoke over the phone, touching on the subject of trade. Experts took this to be a positive sign for future dealings.

鈥淭he fact that this call took place and it seemed to be cordial, it鈥檚 a good opening perch to be in,鈥� said Axworthy. 鈥淚t shows there鈥檚 an openness. We鈥檙e all hoping it will be a starting ground for a series of discussions.鈥�

Chief among them is the re-negotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement.

The Trump administration has put forward a list of possible negotiating priorities, including:

  • Cheese and dairy
  • Supply management
  • Wine and liquor
  • Retail
  • Aerospace
  • Intellectual property
  • Procurement
  • Telecommunications
  • Seeds and grain
  • Cloud computing

The list comes from an annual list of complaints U.S. companies have about trade practices in other countries and was cited in a policy report prepared for the Trump campaign.

Despite the extensive laundry list, former trade ambassador Gordon Ritchie told CTV鈥檚 Power Play that when it comes to negotiations, Canada is sitting pretty.

鈥淚 wouldn鈥檛 take [the list] very seriously. We negotiators all have our little wish lists,鈥� said Ritchie. 鈥淲e鈥檙e in a very strong bargaining position. We don鈥檛 have to roll over. We don鈥檛 have to agree to some of the nonsense.鈥�

Ritchie said that even if they tear up NAFTA, Canada can fall back on the earlier Canada-United States Free Trade Agreement, which first eliminated tariffs and reduced trade barriers between the two countries.

鈥淲e have a very, very solid relationship [with the U.S.],鈥� said Ritchie, citing the $2 billion in trade that crosses the border every day and the 35 states for which Canada is the top export destination.

鈥淭hey didn鈥檛 make a deal with us because of our Irish eyes,鈥� he joked, referring to the friendly relationship between then-prime minister Brian Mulroney and president Ronald Reagan. 鈥淭hey made a deal because they saw it very much in their benefit.鈥�

Ritchie added: 鈥淎nybody who messes with that overall system is going to be facing a lot of criticism at home as well as abroad.鈥�