USTR, Canadian Trade Minister Talk Solar, Dairy on First Day of Trip
At a joint press conference in Ottawa, U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai and Canadian trade minister Mary Ng did not reveal any agreements on trade irritants, but emphasized that they can work out their differences with the trust they share and the strong relationship between the neighboring countries. It was Tai's first trip to Canada since becoming USTR, and she had a full schedule planned, meeting with small businesses, labor groups, and touring a General Motors facility in Markham, Ontario.
Sign up for a free preview to unlock the rest of this article
Export Compliance Daily combines U.S. export control news, foreign border import regulation and policy developments into a single daily information service that reliably informs its trade professional readers about important current issues affecting their operations.
Ng said she'd be showing Tai how GM is integrating its electric vehicle supply chain between the U.S. and Canada, and she emphasized how the auto sector has made choices to integrate the Canadian-U.S. supply chain for 50 years. She said there are billions of dollars in investments coming to Canada to build out a battery ecosystem, from raw materials to finished batteries. She said she and Tai have a "shared vision for a more competitive, more inclusive and a greener North America."
Tai was asked how Canada can be sure that it can rely on the American market, with this administration's message of Buy America. Tai brushed aside the premise of the question, and said it's very clear that the success of the Canadian economy helps the success of the U.S. economy.
She said she and Ng spent time talking about the U.S.'s solar safeguard tariffs and tariff rate quotas earlier in the day. According to the USMCA, Canada is not supposed to be subject to safeguards if its exports are not a significant contributor to economic injury in that sector. Even though Canadian exports were not injurious to domestic solar panel manufacturers, its goods have been subject to safeguards. The U.S. lost a dispute on the matter earlier this year (see 2202160002); before the ruling was made public, the U.S. said it would negotiate with Canada and that it might exempt its panels from the renewed safeguard (see 2202040003).
Tai said, "If you zoom in close you see that as a dispute between the two of us," but added that if you zoom out, you see that Canada and the U.S. are both confronted with competition from other countries' solar production, and she said, "We need to work together to meet those challenges."
The two women were asked about whether they might reach a settlement on dairy tariff rate quotas before a high-level USMCA meeting in July. They didn't address the timetable, but said they were talking about it. Canada lost a panel dispute on how it had implemented what were supposed to be more generous tariff rate quotas after NAFTA was renegotiated (see 2201040041).
Ng said, "Canada will certainly implement the findings of the panel report. We have been working very hard with our stakeholders in Canada, and also with the United States."
Tai said that the trust between her and Ng "allows me to be unflinchingly honest about our expectations." She said that just as she advocates for domestic agricultural exports, part of Ng's job is "to do the same for her dairy farmers."
She said she and Ng have to work through "difficult issues where our systems and our perspectives do not align." She added, "We had a good and honest conversation, and we’re going to keep working on this."