Canada's international trade minister, Pierre Pettigrew, said yesterday he is confident that the flow of Canada-U.S. trade can continue much as usual in the event of a war with Iraq.
"(The United States has) a vested interest to make sure that whatever happens in terms of security does not impede trade," said Pettigrew, pointing out that Canadians buy 25 per cent of U.S. exports.
Pettigrew spoke at a news conference following a meeting in Montreal with his provincial and territorial counterparts.
He said it is in the U.S. interest to keep trade flowing both ways across the border.
"We are the best client of 38 of their states and they also need our goods in their products," he said. "Their interest is like our interest, which is to make sure that the North American economy functions well."
Pettigrew also said that negotiations to resolve the most contentious Canada-U.S. trade issue, the long-standing dispute over softwood lumber pricing, are progressing well and there is hope for a settlement in a matter of weeks.
The United States slapped a 27 per cent duty on Canadian lumber exports last year, claiming that Canadian exporters have an unfair advantage because their fees for harvesting trees on crown land are set too low.
The duty has had a punitive impact on the Canadian lumber industry which exports $10-billion worth of its products to the United States every year.
Pettigrew said Canada is holding out for unrestricted access to the U.S. market for Canadian softwood lumber, and while Canada may not get all it wants from the negotiations, the Americans are coming closer to Canada's position.
"There is a more constructive and complementary attitude between Canadian and American producers that is replacing the very adversarial relationship of recent years," said the minister.
"We know we will not have the perfect deal, but we know that it's going in the direction that Canadians like."
Pettigrew said the meeting was held to brief the provincial ministers on the progress of multilateral trade negotiations in which Canada is involved.
During yesterday's meeting, about 60 protesters opposing the Free Trade Area of the Americas demonstrated in front of the Ritz-Carlton Hotel, complaining that the public has been almost completely excluded from FTAA talks.
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