David Emerson

For months now, the prospect of the United States pulling out of NAFTA has seemed like a bad dream. …But it wouldn’t have to be an economic catastrophe. If Canada plays its cards right, the death of NAFTA could become a catalyst for making the Canadian economy stronger, more outward-looking and less tethered to an increasingly unreliable partner. “If NAFTA were to cease, I don’t think it would be a complete disaster. And in some respects, it actually has a silver lining,” argues David Emerson, a former lumber executive and federal minister of both foreign affairs and trade. …Among other things, he says, Canada should use this time to forge closer ties with China, Japan and other Asian nations, ease the regulatory burden at home and invest heavily in the kind of infrastructure that will make trade easier – all to hedge against the risk of an increasingly protectionist and inward-looking U.S.