CALGARY — Canada needs a new strategy for dealing with the United States on trade relations, according to Premier Danielle Smith, who argues telling Americans “you need us” will not be effective when discussing how Canadian energy benefits the US economy.“The Americans bristle if you ever say the word or the phrase, ‘you need us,'" Smith said at an event in Calgary on Monday.“And you will see that they will tell you, ‘We don't need you or anyone.’”Her remarks come as the Canada-US-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA) is coming up for a review on July 1, six years after it took effect.Last week, President Donald Trump reiterated to the media during a press conference in the Oval Office that may not be interested in renewing the deal..“We don’t need anything Canada has, we don’t need anything Mexico has, they need everything we have and they should have to treat us better,” Trump said.“With Mexico and Canada, we have trade deficits. We should have surpluses with them. We don’t need their cars, we don’t need their lumber, we don’t need their energy.”If the US doesn’t renew the agreement, CUSMA will continue to remain in place while the three countries negotiate changes. Smith now says Canadian policymakers should emphasize how Americans purchasing Canadian energy could strengthen the US economy.The premier pointed to the value generated by US refineries and manufacturers that process Canadian crude oil.“When we go down [to the US], we talk about how you can buy our energy and upgrade it,” Smith said.“We sell it to you for a hundred billion dollars, you can upgrade it and have three hundred billion dollars worth of value. That helps your economy.”Smith also argued Canadian energy helps keep fuel prices lower for American consumers while supporting the US goal of becoming a global energy powerhouse..CUSMA carve-out remains as U.S. proposes new 10% forced-labour tariffs.“If you buy our energy from us, you can keep your gas prices low, which is really important to American consumers,” she said.She said additional pipeline capacity from Canada would also provide the US with secure access to Canadian oil while also creating opportunities for American exports through Gulf Coast facilities.“If you build more pipelines from us, you will always have first dibs on product from Canada,” Smith said.According to Smith, Canada has mistakenly assumed the US would automatically continue purchasing Canadian products because they are geographically close, relatively inexpensive, and easy to access.“They don't quite see it that way,” Smith stated.“They want us to be able to demonstrate the value.”She believes Canada should frame trade discussions around how American businesses and consumers benefit rather than focusing on the advantages to Canada.“It's got to be not in terms of trade with us because it helps us in Canada,” she said.“It's trade with us because it helps America.”
