Any NAFTA deal for Canada better than no NAFTA deal: Canadian American Business Council

Any potential arrangement between The Coca-Cola Co. and Aurora Cannabis Inc. might not make its way into NAFTA talks, but it could become an issue at the U.S-Canada border, says the chief executive officer of the Canadian American Business Council.

“I don’t see this coming up in the trade talks; I do think it’s an issue in terms of border management as we’ve seen come with the news lately,” Maryscott Greenwood told BNN Bloomberg in an interview Monday.

“It’s like so many things we see with Canada and the United States,” Greenwood added. “We have some differences in policies that are real and they’re legitimate on each side.”

“What’s important is that the two countries figure out how we manage them together going forward.”

BNN Bloomberg first reported Coca-Cola, one of the world’s most iconic consumer brands, is in “serious talks” with Edmonton-based Aurora to develop cannabis-infused beverages. If the deal comes through, it would mark a significant foray into the cannabis sector for the beverage company.

Cannabis is not legal at the federal level in the United States, only in some states like California and Colorado.

The U.S. president has been known to call out American companies in the past, including Harley-Davidson and Amazon, but Greenwood doesn’t see Trump doing that in the case of Coca-Cola – at least not for now.

Greenwood said Trump’s focus is instead on the auto sector, and fulfiling his campaign promise of bringing more manufacturing jobs back into the United States.

“The trade file is pretty full,” she said.