Article content continued

The idea that cars and car parts from Canada are a threat to national security is even more absurd than making the claim about aluminum used in American fighter jets. “We continue to hope logic and common sense will prevail with an administration that doesn’t always align itself around those principles,” he said.

But the prime minister’s influence with Trump may not be what it was.

The idea of a “skinny” NAFTA, essentially a deal on autos and agricultural access that would not require Congressional approval, appears dead. Trump remains rigid on his insistence on a sunset clause, which would require a renegotiation of the deal every five years, and on ditching the Chapter 19 dispute-resolution clause that created the binational expert panel to adjudicate trade disagreements.

The failure to persuade Trump to extend the exemption suggests the growing influence of the arch-protectionists around Trump, like U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer.

Lighthizer is the first USTR in American history who appears to want to roll back trade liberalization and re-balance U.S. trade policy by forcing American multinationals investing overseas to repatriate their capital. In that scenario, the combination of lower corporate tax cuts and punitive tariffs is aimed persuading U.S. manufacturers to relocate their production in the United States.

Speculation in Ottawa suggests Lighthizer doesn’t want an agreement, and believes a Democrat-dominated House of Representatives that may emerge after the U.S. mid-term elections in November could give him leverage to extract an even better deal.

But there are signs that Canada still has allies in the White House. One senior source said Trudeau did not call Trump of his own volition last week — he was encouraged to do so by members of the President’s own team.

How is it possible to deal with such absurdity? On Walt Whitman’s birthday, his soothing words suggest the road forward:

“Keep your face towards the sunshine,

And shadows will fall behind you.”

• Email: jivison@nationalpost.com | Twitter: IvisonJ