LOS ANGELES: Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau came with an unambiguous message on his latest US visit: the North American Free Trade Agreement is a success that needs to be modernized, not abandoned.
With the next round of talks over the trade pact set to begin in Mexico later this month, Trudeau used a speech at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library on Friday to cast the deal as part of a long history between the two countries that has been beneficial for both.
Yet he also echoed frequent criticism from President Donald Trump, who has threatened to pull out of NAFTA, that too many workers are being left behind in the global economy.
"We need to collectively do a much better job of ensuring the benefits of trade are shared more broadly," Trudeau said.
The speech was a centerpiece on his swing in which he warned Canada won't be muscled into a trade deal that is unfavorable to his country, while promoting Canada as a destination for California technology firms uneasy with shifting U.S. immigration policy.
After the speech, a California Highway Patrol motorcycle officer who was part of Trudeau's motorcade crashed and was sent to a hospital with moderate injuries, the Ventura County Fire Department said. The vehicle carrying the prime minister was not involved and he was not hurt.
Trudeau picked up promises of investments and jobs during his first official visit to San Francisco. Among them: Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff announced the online business software company will invest another $2 billion in its Canadian operations.
He was scheduled to appear on Saturday in Los Angeles, with Mayor Eric Garcetti.
Trump called the 24-year-old agreement a job-killing "disaster" on the campaign trail, and he has threatened to pull out unless the deal requires more auto production in the U.S., while shifting additional government contracts to U.S. companies.
Trudeau argued that the deal has sent benefits both ways across the border.
He said 9 million jobs in America are tied to trade and investment with Canada and "the truth is that both Canada and the United States are winning. And so is Mexico. And that's exactly how we should keep it."
But he added: "President Trump and I agree about this: Too many people have been left behind, even as our economies surged."
But an agreement, he warned, will take "a willingness to compromise on all sides."
The location of the speech carried symbolic weight, alluding to the longstanding trade relationship between the U.S. and Canada. In 1988, Reagan and then-Prime Minister Brian Mulroney signed the first free trade agreement — a precursor to NAFTA.
In his speech, Trudeau made repeated references to the historic connections between the two countries and argued that backing away from NAFTA could unspool deep ties across the continent — with an unknown cost.
The liberal Trudeau argued that differing political views need not stand in the way of trade agreement, alluding to the Republican president.
Reaching agreements has always required "persistence and no shortage of sunny, Reagan-esque optimism on both sides," he said.
Uncertainty over Trump's immigration policies has provided momentum for Trudeau's economic pitch to Silicon Valley, where many companies that rely on foreign workers have become uneasy.
On his visit to Northern California, Trudeau promoted his country's fast-track employment permit for certain workers, dubbed the "global skills strategy visa."
Trudeau also met Thursday with Amazon Chief Executive Jeff Bezos as Bezos considers possible locations for a second headquarters. Toronto, which has created a government-sponsored innovation hub for tech companies, was the only one of several Canadian cities that made the shortlist.
Trudeau's stop in San Francisco highlighted the already strong ties between Canada and California, particularly in research, academia and technology.
While much of the attention on the North American Free Trade Agreement has focused on physical commodities such as vehicle manufacturing, dairy and timber, skilled workers have also become increasingly mobile between the U.S., Canada and Mexico.
Google built its latest DeepMind artificial intelligence facility at the University of Alberta in Edmonton, Canada.
In US swing, Trudeau mixes job deals with defense of NAFTA
In US swing, Trudeau mixes job deals with defense of NAFTA
Trump administration labels 3 Muslim Brotherhood branches as terrorist organizations
- The State Department designated the Lebanese branch a foreign terrorist organization
- “These designations reflect the opening actions of an ongoing, sustained effort to thwart Muslim Brotherhood chapters’ violence,” Rubio said
WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump’s administration has made good on its pledge to label three Middle Eastern branches of the Muslim Brotherhood as terrorist organizations, imposing sanctions on them and their members in a decision that could have implications for US relationships with allies Qatar and Turkiye.
The Treasury and State departments announced the actions Tuesday against the Lebanese, Jordanian and Egyptian chapters of the Muslim Brotherhood, which they said pose a risk to the United States and American interests.
The State Department designated the Lebanese branch a foreign terrorist organization, the most severe of the labels, which makes it a criminal offense to provide material support to the group. The Jordanian and Egyptian branches were listed by Treasury as specially designated global terrorists for providing support to Hamas.
“These designations reflect the opening actions of an ongoing, sustained effort to thwart Muslim Brotherhood chapters’ violence and destabilization wherever it occurs,” Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a statement. “The United States will use all available tools to deprive these Muslim Brotherhood chapters of the resources to engage in or support terrorism.”
Rubio and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent were mandated last year under an executive order signed by Trump to determine the most appropriate way to impose sanctions on the groups, which US officials say engage in or support violence and destabilization campaigns that harm the United States and other regions.
Muslim Brotherhood leaders have said they renounce violence.
Trump’s executive order had singled out the chapters in Lebanon, Jordan and Egypt, noting that a wing of the Lebanese chapter had launched rockets on Israel after Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack in Israel that set off the war in Gaza. Leaders of the group in Jordan have provided support to Hamas, the order said.
The Muslim Brotherhood was founded in Egypt in 1928 but was banned in that country in 2013. Jordan announced a sweeping ban on the Muslim Brotherhood in April.
Nathan Brown, a professor of political science and international affairs at George Washington University, said some allies of the US, including the United Arab Emirates and Egypt, would likely be pleased with the designation.
“For other governments where the brotherhood is tolerated, it would be a thorn in bilateral relations,” including in Qatar and Turkiye, he said.
Brown also said a designation on the chapters may have effects on visa and asylum claims for people entering not just the US but also Western European countries and Canada.
“I think this would give immigration officials a stronger basis for suspicion, and it might make courts less likely to question any kind of official action against Brotherhood members who are seeking to stay in this country, seeking political asylum,” he said.
Trump, a Republican, weighed whether to designate the Muslim Brotherhood a terrorist organization in 2019 during his first term in office. Some prominent Trump supporters, including right-wing influencer Laura Loomer, have pushed his administration to take aggressive action against the group.
Two Republican-led state governments — Florida and Texas — designated the group as a terrorist organization this year.
