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The mayor of Brampton, Ont., says “no deal is better than a bad deal” if the auto sector isn’t included — a common phrase used in the past year about Canada’s ongoing trade negotiations with the U.S.
“I hope we can get a trade deal but my understanding is that the U.S. side, the Trump side has tried to put forward proposals that don’t include the auto sector and so no deal is better than a bad deal,” said Patrick Brown on Saturday.
“I hope that if there is a continued trade agreement with the United States, that we’re going to continue to have free trade on auto.”
Brown’s comments come a day after Unifor said Stellantis was strongly considering closing an assembly plant in Brampton.
President Lana Payne said the company had notified it would move the future Jeep Compass production slated for Brampton to the U.S., “idling the plant indefinitely.”
“Throughout this entire time, though, it’s important to note, Stellantis has reiterated to us its commitment to Brampton and our members,” Payne said, speaking in Toronto.
The company told Global News it was about to enter negotiations with its workers’ union, and the focus “remains on finding a sustainable manufacturing solution for Brampton Assembly.”
New tariffs proposed by Trump against Canada loom over negotiations currently taking place. A source with direct knowledge of the negotiations says they’re not close to signing a trade deal to reduce current duties and avoid the new ones.
It’s been a week of negotiations in Washington so far, with multiple sources labelling it as constructive, with negotiators on both sides “nerding out” and reviewing individual tariffs on a line-by-line basis.
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Even with constructive talks, Global News has learned there’s still a way to go, even with the 50 per cent tariffs set to come into place Aug. 19.
Global News has agreed not to identify the sources because they were not authorized to speak publicly about the trade talks.
Any deal the Trump administration is willing to sign will have some form of tariffs on steel, aluminum, autos and lumber, according to sources. The U.S. has also insisted American alcohol must be put back onto all provincial store shelves, which multiple premiers have expressed a willingness to do if enough U.S. concessions are made.
If a deal is reached, tariffs on Canadian autos and parts compliant with the Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA) would remain in place, but it is expected they would be reduced from the current 25 per cent level, according to a source familiar with the talks. One proposal that has been discussed is a tariff rate of between 10-15 per cent on CUSMA-compliant autos and parts, according to one source.
While a potential deal could include a reduction, auto industry insiders have said the tariffs represent a major threat to the industry in Canada, and they would not support any tariff level on CUSMA-compliant parts and autos.
“We shouldn’t be offering any concessions to the United States right now,” Payne said at Friday’s news conference. “The reality is they have, the U.S. has imposed tariffs on Canada. We have retaliated by having counter-tariffs in the auto sector specifically and by doing that we created leverage for ourselves in these discussions with the U.S. right now.”
Payne went on to say if no deal is reached by Aug. 19 that Canada should retaliate “and retaliate hard.”
The U.S. has previously said the 50 per cent tariffs proposed are in response to retaliatory measures and warned they must be lifted before a deal will be reached.
With the tariff deadline only days away, Brown said he’s hopeful a deal can be reached that includes auto because Trump’s tariffs have been “devastating” for the North American industry.
—with files from Global News’ Sean O’Shea, Mackenzie Gray, Sergio Vargas, Bryan Mullan, Sean Boynton and Uday Rana
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