Trump Could Be Good for Canadian Construction: Stakeholders

Michael Atkinson, president of the CCA, said reopening NAFTA could be an opportunity to look at how it can be improved. “If president-elect Trump wants to renegotiate NAFTA, having the procurement provisions apply more broadly, I think it would be a positive thing,” said Atkinson. “It would be one way to modernize that agreement, but certainly CETA (Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement), Trans-Pacific (Partnership), any of these newer, international trade agreements, the procurements apply more than just to national procurement, it applies to subnational procurement as well. That is where all international trade agreements are going now.” That is important, he said, because Canadians felt shut out during President Barack Obama’s infrastructure stimulus program when Buy American provisions were imposed on federal projects which meant Canadian products couldn’t be used. Read more