Canada must be part of Pacific pact, automakers might suffer: PM

By David Ljunggren
OTTAWA, Sept 17 (Reuters) - Canada must sign up to a
proposed 12-nation Pacific trade pact, even though the country's
auto makers might not be happy with some of the conditions,
Prime Minister Stephen Harper said on Thursday.
Trade ministers failed to clinch the Trans-Pacific
Partnership at a meeting in late July amid disagreements over
sectors such as autos and dairy.
U.S. President Barack Obama said on Wednesday he was
confident a deal could be finalised this year.
Canada and Mexico, both home to major auto plants, are angry
that the United States wants to let Japan export cars to North
America with substantial content from non-TPP nations. This,
they fear, could make Canadian and Mexican autos too expensive.
Harper - predicting the talks would succeed in producing a
trade deal - told a televised election campaign debate that
Canada had no choice but to join the TPP to ensure access to
fast-growing Asian markets.
"What I say to the auto sector in particular - I am not
suggesting they will necessarily like everything that is in that
- is we simply cannot afford as a country to have our auto
sector shut out of global supply chains," he said.
Harper added: "That would be a disaster. We're going to make
sure we get the best deal for that and all of our sectors."
He gave no details as to what concessions the auto makers
might have to make.
Representatives from the United States, Canada, Mexico and
Japan would meet in San Francisco early next week to address
disagreements over the auto sector.
Chief negotiators from TPP nations will meet in Atlanta,
Georgia, on Sept. 26, and trade ministers are set to gather in
the same city the following week.
Canada has also run into problems at the talks over demands
from other nations that it cut protections for dairy farmers.