Dairy farmers on the Island and across sa国际传媒 feel as if they were thrown under the bus when the country signed on to a new free-trade deal with the U.S. and Mexico.
But hard as it might be on the farmers, the deal is important for sa国际传媒鈥檚 prosperity. With U.S. President Donald Trump鈥檚 irrational obsession over the tiny fraction of trade represented by dairy, few people could be surprised that this was where sa国际传媒 would yield.
That鈥檚 what happened when the agreement was finally hammered out at the last minute on the weekend. Americans will get access to 3.5 per cent of the $16-billion Canadian dairy market.
Leaders on both sides boasted of achieving victory for their nations, which seems odd when discussing a deal that is supposed to bolster co-operation and facilitate trade. It鈥檚 like a new husband or wife proclaiming victory during the wedding ceremony.
For all the pain that farmers will feel (and the agreement permits the federal government to compensate farmers hurt by the deal), Canadians can be satisfied that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland stood firm on such crucial terms as the Chapter 19 dispute-resolution provisions. That process has been important, for instance, in defending sa国际传媒鈥檚 lumber producers.
And they were able to get terms that avoid crushing tariffs on the auto sector, which would have rippled across the whole economy.
Once Trump went on the warpath, some pain was unavoidable. Although many details still have to be examined, it appears that sa国际传媒鈥檚 negotiators managed to keep the pain to a minimum.
