Trump’s trade war threat pushes Ottawa to bust up interprovincial trade barriers

By Laura Osman and Joanna Smith
The Logic
January 24, 2025
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada, United States

Scott Moe & Doug Ford

OTTAWA — Donald Trump’s threats of sweeping tariffs on Canadian imports are spurring Ottawa and the provinces to get busy dismantling long-standing trade barriers within the country, Internal Trade Minister Anita Anand said. Removing the impediments—an unrealized policy goal of governments throughout decades—could strengthen Ottawa’s hand in negotiations with the new U.S. president, Anand added. …“There is no question in my mind that reducing internal barriers to trade is beneficial for the Canadian economy, and it’s also beneficial in terms of our negotiations on tariffs with the US.” The federal, provincial and territorial governments plan to hold an urgent meeting next week of the Committee on Internal Trade, which oversees the implementation of the 2017 Canadian Free Trade Agreement, to discuss how to move more quickly. The agreement serves as a rulebook for trade within Canada, with the still-unrealized goal of allowing free movement of people, goods, services across provincial boundaries.

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