Canada is expected to become the third country to ratify the new North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) next week.

The trade agreement between Canada, the United States, and Mexico helps ease trade between the North American countries.

Though the NDP and Bloc Quebecois have said they'd like to exmaine the text in parliament, it is expected the Conservative party will support Justin Trudeau and the Liberals in ratifying the agreement.

Foothills MP John Barlow says ratifying the agreement is an important step for producers in the area.

"In my constituency, when it comes to agriculture, getting the new NAFTA agreement done is pretty critical," he said. "We want to ensure we have access to those markets. We're not necessarily happy with everything with NAFTA... but getting the deal done is important."

Among the issues Barlow has with NAFTA are tariffs on aluminum and steel. He also says the agreement could hamstring future trade agreements with other countries.

"As part of the new NAFTA agreement, had Canada wanted to enter a free trade agreement with China, we would have to get the approval of the United States to do that. If the US didn't like the agreement, they could expel us through the new NAFTA agreement. We do not have that same power over the United States."

While Barlow is prepared to support NAFTA, he's still not optimistic about other free trade negotiations helmed by the Liberal leader.

"We still have seen no movement with our canola into China. We have lost critical markets into Peru, Italy, Saudi Arabia. These are all important markets for our agriculture sectors that we have lost."

 

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