'We send a very powerful message' in post-Brexit, post-Trump world, says Cecilia Malmstrom on visit
Canada and the European Union are powerful partners in the fight to
combat the protectionist, anti-trade rhetoric that has gained momentum
in the United States and United Kingdom, says the EU's Trade
Commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom.
"We're not closing barriers, we're not building walls," Europe's top trade chief told CBC News Network's
Power & Politics, in reference to U.S. President Donald Trump and his campaign promise to build a wall along the Mexico border.
"We stand up to fair trade, to good trade, transparent trade,
sustainable trade, a trade where we both win," she told host Rosemary
Barton.
Malmstrom was in Canada for a two-day visit, meeting with Canadian
counterpart Francois-Philippe Champagne and Foreign Affairs Minister
Chrystia Freeland, with whom she worked closely during last year's final
negotiations of CETA, the Canada-EU trade deal that comes into
provisional effect in the coming weeks.
Touted by officials on both sides as the gold standard in trade
deals, CETA will be the template for future accords with other
countries, Malmstrom hopes.
CETA "is setting a role model for us," she said. "We want to have this as a blueprint for many other trade agreements."
Malmstrom says she is currently negotiating deals with about 20
partners around the world, including Japan, Australia and New Zealand.
EU takes up trade mantle
In the wake of last year's unexpected one-two political punch of
Brexit and Trump's win, the EU isn't wasting time bolstering its
ambitious trade agenda — or shoring up its own credibility as a global
champion of free trade, according to Patrick Leblond, an international
trade specialist at the Centre for International Governance Innovation
in Waterloo, Ont.
It's not just Europe with a leadership role to play on the world
stage — Canada too is positioned alongside the EU to push for more open
borders and trade, he added.
"You need a counterbalance to the protectionist message coming out of
the United States, and Canada and the EU will need to co-operate in
case the U.S. decides to start launching trade wars at everyone, raising
tariffs, blocking other countries' access to the U.S. market," he said.
"That will require a unified response. Canada has been talking the
talk and seems to be willing to walk the walk, and the Europeans seem to
be doing the same."
Malmstrom admitted the EU is "worried about some of the signs" coming
out of the United States, including possible border taxes and high
tariffs.
"We need to see exactly what they are planning," she said. "The rest of the world will have to see how to respond."
U.S. deal still on table
For now, Malmstrom is hopeful a potential trade deal can still be reached between Europe and the United States.
"We still think there's a good case for facilitating trade," she told
Barton, noting that there are several obstacles standing in the way,
including the fact that it doesn't seem "to be an immediate priority for
the [Trump] administration."
Former President Barack Obama began trade talks with Europe — known
as the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership — but Trump
promised to scrap it during his campaign.
"As soon as [the Trump administration] is fully in place, we will
liaise and see if there's anything, if we can restart those
negotiations," said Malmstrom.
But for the moment, she added, TTIP is "in the freezer."
Leblond doesn't share Malmstrom's optimism that the deal could be revived.
"I certainly would not see any deal during the next four years," he said. "Certainly with the type of
frosty meeting that took place between Trump and German Chancellor Angela
Merkel
last week, it doesn't bode well for such an agreement. There's a long
way to go to even bring the two sides back to the negotiating table."
Brexit 'will be difficult negotiations'
Malmstrom also touched on challenges facing the EU once the
United Kingdom officially begins the Brexit process March 29.
"It will be complicated," she said. "But the United Kingdom is a
friend, it's an ally, a neighbour. We need to find a good way to coexist
in the future, but it will be difficult negotiations."
Although she dismissed the idea of the EU having the "upper hand" in
Brexit talks, Malmstrom was firm that the United Kingdom isn't in a
position to pick and choose.
"They have chosen to leave. I'm sad about that, but that is their
decision, we respect it," she said. "But they have chosen to leave. If
you're not part of the internal market, then you cannot cherry pick."
