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Scott Paul, president of the Alliance for American Manufacturing, a coalition of steel industries and the United Steelworkers union, told the Wall Street Journal: “There are lots of jobs (in the U.S.) that are here now that would have disappeared forever if not for his interventions. … But he’s like dealing with a trauma surgeon: He can keep you alive, but it will cost you your leg.”

Trump himself hinted Ross will be applying his negotiation skills.

“Wilbur Ross is a champion of American manufacturing and knows how to help companies succeed,” Trump said in a statement.

“Most importantly, he is one of the greatest negotiators I have ever met and that comes from me, the author of The Art of the Deal.”

It’s unclear how Canada fits into the complaints about NAFTA.

During the campaign, Trump almost never mentioned Canada. Ross did the same in the September paper he co-authored — it mentioned Mexico 10 times, and Canada just once, in passing, as one of the major countries contributing to the U.S. trade deficit.

A leading expert on international tax policy says Canada could be affected by the trade talk.

“I guess, probably, Canada should worry,” said Gary Hufbauer, a former U.S. federal official and now a fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics.

I guess, probably, Canada should worry

“If Canada loves its value-added tax, or its GST as they call it … that’s fine. That doesn’t bother Trump at all.” But when it’s applied to imports, Hufbauer said: “He sees it as a tariff when you levy it at the border.”