BREAKING NEWS

Fearing protectionism, Canada's Trudeau reaches out to US Congress

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau reached out in a video address to the new US Congress on Tuesday to stress how tightly linked the economies of Canada and the United States are, amid fears of a protectionist Trump administration.
US President-elect Donald Trump, who has promised to either renegotiate or scrap the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), has said overhauling trade policy will be a top priority after he takes office on Jan. 20.
Canada sends 75 percent of its exports to the United States and could suffer from changes to NAFTA, which also includes Mexico. Ford Motor Co on Tuesday scrapped a planned Mexican car factory and added 700 jobs in Michigan following criticism by Trump, who turned his attention toward General Motors Co with the threat of a "big border tax" over compact cars made in Mexico.
In the video address, Trudeau and David MacNaughton, the Canadian ambassador to Washington, stressed the closeness of ties between the neighbors.