Justin Trudeau and Donald Trump.
Chad Selweski covered state and regional politics for The Macomb Daily for nearly 30 years. He contributes to Deadline Detroit and blogs at Politically Speaking.
By Chad Selweski
Justin Trudeau and Donald Trump.
The proposed trade agreement unveiled Monday between the U.S. and Mexico, with Michigan’s neighbor, Canada, left flapping in a breeze of hot air from the Trump White House, could spell trouble for our state’s economy.
The pact puts President Donald Trump in an entirely new light – praising Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto, with whom Trump has clashed repeatedly over the prospect of building a border wall blocking Mexico. The U.S. president has relentlessly portrayed Mexican immigrants as a national enemy but now Trump has dumped on America’s most loyal ally, the Canadians, by conspicuously leaving them out of the trade agreement.
It somehow seems that Trump’s 2016 campaign vow to renegotiate the NAFTA (North American Free Trade Agreement) has evolved into a personality clash, with the president eager to favor Mexico over Canada.
Could it be that, above all else, Trump jealously relishes this opportunity to slap Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who's much more popular globally than our president? Could the young, charismatic Ottawa leader be on the long enemies list of the U.S. president?
In any event, within the world of international trade that produces hundreds of thousands of jobs for Michigan workers, Trump’s attempt to brazenly bypass Canada in favor of the formerly demonized Mexico suggests a hyper-egotistical Oval Office occupant out of touch with the facts.
Across the U.S., Michigan is one of 33 states, including nearly every state east of the Mississippi River, that rank Canada as the leading destination of their home-grown and locally produced exports. Few Michiganders realize this, but our state is an exporting powerhouse, ranked only behind Illinois as the top exporter among states that do not have an ocean port.
Sure, Michigan produces cars and trucks sold from coast to coast in the U.S. But the state also turns out a wide variety of manufactured products and agricultural crops that are sold throughout North America and overseas.
Yet, in a narcissistic attempt to place another star on his forehead, Trump eagerly attempts to eliminate NAFTA, which he wildly labeled during the 2016 presidential campaign as the “worst trade deal ever” negotiated by America.
Here’s the routinely misleading part of Trump’s newest proclamation that he is the almighty fixer, the salvation for blue-collar workers who have suffered financially over the past decade:
Trump knows that, with Congress casting a wary eye, he cannot box out our northern neighbors, yet he is angling to do so, at least for temporary PR purposes, perhaps just for spite. Even the handshake agreement – an “understanding” -- with Mexico, which requires the resolution of countless details, assumed that the Canadians will be invited quickly into the process.
According to the New York Times, any agreement that does not involve Canada is likely to face legal challenges and intense opposition from Congress, which had granted the Trump administration authority to renegotiate NAFTA only as a trilateral, three-nation deal.
The Times reports that the president’s apparent willingness to move on without Canada prompted confusion and concern among congressional lawmakers — who said it may not be legally permissible, let alone smart — and businesses whose supply chains depend on a deal encompassing all three countries.
With Michigan’s blue-collar and farming workers wholly enveloped in North American trade, this quote is especially revealing:
“Because of the massive amount of movement of goods between the three countries and the integration of operations which make manufacturing in our country more competitive, it is imperative that a trilateral agreement (including Canada) be inked.”
That is not a statement from a Democratic or liberal or anti-Trump organization, it comes from the National Association of Manufacturers.
To be clear, Michigan conservatives should know this: That group was previously led for many years by John Engler, former Republican governor of Michigan.
