The federal finance minister made a stop in Windsor-Essex Monday as part of a nation-wide tour.
Bill Morneau chatted with business leaders and local politicians about such hot topics as auto and steel tariffs, NAFTA and the state of those negotiations.
“It's not surprising that many of the business leaders I spoke to this morning were advocates for moving forward as fast as possible on NAFTA,” says Morneau. “That's exactly the reason why we want to do so.”
During his stop, Morneau also visited the Windsor Assembly Plant, which he says gave him a better picture of just how many people in the region rely on manufacturing jobs and cross-border trade.
Morneau tells CTV News his government doesn't believe there are reasonable grounds for any sort of auto tariffs.
“We recognize that Canadians, Canadian businesses are impacted, so it reinforces our resolve, which has always been strong, to get to a new and improved NAFTA," adds Morneau.
The finance minister says the climate of uncertainty caused by the lengthy NAFTA talks is a serious consideration for the Canadian government as they try to settle on a new, mutually beneficial agreement.
But U.S. President Donald Trump continues to sugges the may tear up the NAFTA deal and seek single agreements with both Mexico and Canada.
Trump says talks with Mexico to revamp NAFTA are going well but in Canada -- "tariffs and trade barriers are far too high."
In a tweet, the President added he “will tax cars if we can't make a deal!"
Analysts warn a levy on imports of vehicles into the U.S. -- which has been roundly opposed by the auto industry -- would be extremely damaging for the Canadian economy.
