Rekindle efforts with Canada, allies on Pacific Rim plan: Congressman

WASHINGTON, Wash. — A congressman prominent on trade issues says it’s time for the United States to work with Canada and other allies on a new strategy for the Pacific Rim.

Rep. Earl Blumenauer, chairman of the House Ways and Means trade subcommittee, says the renegotiated NAFTA offers a model for resurrecting the Trans-Pacific Partnership.

Blumenauer says there’s a hunger among allies to once again work with the US, particularly when it comes to China.

Canada recently shelved its efforts to secure a trade deal with China, whose aggressive geopolitical moves have soured its relations with many liberal democracies.

Blumenauer points to the efforts of Democrats to secure more stringent labour and enforcement tools in NAFTA’s successor, the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement.

He says longtime allies like Canada are keen to renew their partnerships with the U.S., which abandoned TPP under President Donald Trump.