NDP: Trade with U.S. and Mexico – New Name, Worse Deal

In response to the new trade deal with the United States and Mexico, USMCA, the Leader of the NDP, Jagmeet Singh, and the NDP’s Trade and Deputy Trade Critics, Tracey Ramsey and Karine Trudel, made the following statement:

“Many Canadians were worried we wouldn't get a deal, but today, many of the same Canadians are worried about what we have given up to get this deal. This trade deal is nothing like what the Liberals promised at the beginning of negotiations. Canadians were looking for a better deal, and instead, we seem to be getting a new name, but a worse deal.

The Liberals began negotiations promising to defend dairy, poultry and egg farmers and to bring in new progressive measures such as a gender chapter, a chapter on the rights of Indigenous peoples and stronger environmental protections.

Instead, none of those new chapters are included, and the Liberals have made major concessions to the Trump administration that will hurt dairy, poultry and egg farmers and producers, restrict Canadians’ access to locally produced food and put food safety at risk.

While auto tariffs are off the table, they never should have been there in the first place. And the Liberals have failed to get any assurance that the U.S. will lift aluminum and steel tariffs. These tariffs hurt workers across Canada, and could result in at least 6, 000 jobs losses.

The Liberals claim they support some form of pharmacare, but this deal makes medication even more expensive. The deal extends patents on biologics from eight to ten years, meaning Canadians are going to have to wait two more years to access cheaper generic versions of medication they need to treat chronic conditions like rheumatoid arthritis and Crohn's disease.

So this is a bad news deal for individual Canadians who will be paying more for medication, and it's a bad deal for employers and governments whose drug plans will be paying tens of millions of dollars more per year to cover these medications.

In the next few weeks, Canadians are expecting transparency from the Liberal government. The Liberals owe it to Canadians to bring the deal for study and debate to parliament. Canadians need to know what they’re being signed on to and how this will affect their livelihoods. The NDP will continue to press the Liberal government to be transparent and will continue to stand up for our workers and industries.”