Meghan L. O'Sullivan, Columnist

Some Context for Canadians Who Love or Hate the New Nafta

The “veto” over side deals with China isn’t really new, and restrictions on energy no longer just benefit the U.S.

October 30, 2018 at 9:00 AM UTC

Meghan L. O’Sullivan is a professor of international affairs at Harvard’s Kennedy School and the North American chair of the Trilateral Commission, she served on the National Security Council from 2004 to 2007.

Energy trade between the U.S. and Canada is not as one-sided as it used to be.
Photographer: John Moore/Getty Images

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Americans are not the only ones still unpacking the new USMCA trade deal that is due to replace Nafta. Two issues have received a great deal of attention in Canada — one which is misunderstood as a great concession by Canada and the other wrongly celebrated as an unequivocal victory. Both deserve a deeper look.

Just recently, Canada’s prime minister and foreign affairs minister, Justin Trudeau and Chrystia Freeland, struggled to explain the significance of a provision that many Canadians have interpreted as a gross infringement of their trade sovereignty. This provision, Section 32, is one outcome of the trade talks that is not what it seems.