Former Prime Minister Brian Mulroney says Prime Minister Justin Trudeau 鈥渄id the right thing鈥� by signing a new North American free trade agreement on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
鈥淲hen somebody gives you a document that you agree with and says, 鈥楾his is NAFTA,鈥� you sign. You don鈥檛 horse around,鈥� Mulroney said Saturday in an interview with 麻豆传媒鈥� Sandie Rinaldo. 鈥淗e did the right thing," Mulroney added.
Mulroney also said Trudeau made the right move by signing the deal before controversial American steel and aluminum tariffs on Canada were lifted.
鈥淲e鈥檒l get rid of the tariffs,鈥� Mulroney predicted. 鈥淭hey鈥檒l come off. In fact, I鈥檓 sure he鈥檚 working on them down there in Buenos Aires."
Mulroney oversaw negotiations on the original NAFTA deal between Canada, the U.S. and Mexico.
On Saturday, Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer criticized Trudeau, saying on Twitter that the signing ceremony was the prime minister鈥檚 鈥渇inal capitulation to Donald Trump ... even while steel and aluminum tariffs remain.鈥�
Mulroney said the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA) is 鈥渁 good deal for Canada.
鈥淐ould it be better?鈥� he said. 鈥淪ure. Did he give up something? Sure he did. But so did the Americans. They wanted Chapter 19 out, and the Canadians said, 鈥極ver our dead bodies,鈥� as I told (former U.S. president Ronald) Reagan.鈥�
Chapter 19 refers to the original NAFTA鈥檚 dispute-resolution mechanism.
Mulroney said the new deal is by no means perfect, 鈥渂ut it鈥檚 hell of a lot better than not having one at all.鈥�
Mulroney: Trudeau 鈥榟as a tougher challenge鈥�
Trudeau鈥檚 new mission, Mulroney said, will be to ease the tensions between Ottawa and Washington that arose during negotiation. Mulroney, who is said to have a personal relationship with the mercurial U.S. president, is confident that that will happen.
鈥淭he hostility 鈥� that we saw between the president and the prime minister will dissipate in the fullness of time,鈥� he said. 鈥淎nd our prime minister will have an occasion to re-establish the relationship on a basis that it ought to be,鈥� he added.
In addition to preserving national unity, maintaining positive Canada-U.S. relations is one of the most important parts of a prime minister鈥檚 job, Mulroney opined.
鈥淵ou need a congenial type in the White House to help you along,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 definitely had that, and I can鈥檛 say that鈥檚 always the case these days, so that鈥檚 why I sympathize with Justin, the prime minister, that he has a tougher challenge than some of us had.鈥�
