I was and suppose still am a bit skeptical my US counterparts...but, so far I am liking what I am seeing. I see that Shwarzman was in Calgary on Monday to start a dialoge ,and he espoused the idea of 'no fear' ....From what I understand our Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland (smart cookie, recently appointed to the position in November, which is no coincidence I am certain), and Shwarzman are 'good friends', this could be a big plus. Trump has expressed an interest in bi-lateral vs multi nation deals. Suits me fine as I feel the original Canada/US free trade agreement was a pretty good one. Supply chains which imo are pretty damned important are relatively seamless between our two nations...this needs to continue for productivity. I suppose I could even argue supply chains between Mex/US/Can are also fairly seamless...can't be underestimated.
Softwood lumber will be the sticking point big time. If Trump attempts to bring it to the table (which I have no doubt he will, and good for him to get what he can), he could be stonewalled imo. This has been a major thorn in both nations sides since 2005. The crux is for those who don't know is that the majority of Canadian forest is Crown owned (Cdn govt owned) and subsidized as a result, and the majority of the US is privately owned...Canadian ownership of US mills is quite large and continues to expand significantly , Westfor , Canfor, and Interfor being the majors, which does employ a significant amount....I am certain this is the sticking point toward meaningful progress, along with more efficient border control protocol.
Personally I am in favour of a reasonable tax levy followed by NO quota.
Are Trump and Trudeau the ones to finally solve it? Be curious to hear from any who have their ear to the ground on this one...
Softwood lumber will be the sticking point big time. If Trump attempts to bring it to the table (which I have no doubt he will, and good for him to get what he can), he could be stonewalled imo. This has been a major thorn in both nations sides since 2005. The crux is for those who don't know is that the majority of Canadian forest is Crown owned (Cdn govt owned) and subsidized as a result, and the majority of the US is privately owned...Canadian ownership of US mills is quite large and continues to expand significantly , Westfor , Canfor, and Interfor being the majors, which does employ a significant amount....I am certain this is the sticking point toward meaningful progress, along with more efficient border control protocol.
Personally I am in favour of a reasonable tax levy followed by NO quota.
Are Trump and Trudeau the ones to finally solve it? Be curious to hear from any who have their ear to the ground on this one...
