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Under the terms of both the original NAFTA and the new deal, a party can already exit with six months’ notice, he said. And Canada can still pursue smaller-scale talks with China that advance trade relations.

America is trying to bring all its allies onside in this trade war Gregory Chin, a former Canadian diplomat in Beijing

“It would be better not to include something like Article 32.10 but it’s unlikely to have much impact on what we actually do,” Wolfe said. “The provision is mostly symbolic, given the broad U.S.-China standoff and it changes very little. It’s basically a transparency requirement.”

The clause has nevertheless fuelled worries that Washington will exercise outsize power in Ottawa’s trade relationships, and is using the USMCA to entangle Canada and Mexico in its trade war with Beijing.

“America is trying to bring all its allies onside in this trade war,” said Gregory Chin, a professor of political economy at York University and a former Canadian diplomat in Beijing. “There has been a toughening on China across the board in the United States and the question for Canada is are we going to be swept along by that?”

At the very least, the clause and the U.S. messaging surrounding it should prompt Canada to clearly state where it stands on China and what sort of investments and trade relationship it wants from the Asian superpower, Chin added.

“I do think now would be the time to set out in very clear terms how we view China strategically.”

U.S. President Donald Trump has imposed US$250 billion in tariffs on Chinese goods so far and is threatening more levies if Beijing doesn’t change what the U.S. views as unfair trading practices. China has been accused of dumping subsidized goods into other markets and forcing companies to transfer their technologies to state-owned firms in exchange for access to the Chinese market.