IM-Johnson_2023_0928.pub

Second, the US must insist on reciprocity and limit access to the US market to countries that grant access to their market more beneficial than granted to the US. [...] However, the emphasis on “balanced trade,” if enacted, would shatter the most-favoured-nation principle, one of the core principles of the WTO trading system. [...] And while many Americans may not care much about WTO principles, they would care if other countries jettisoned them to achieve balanced trade with the US – countries such as Australia, the United Kingdom or Brazil, with which the US runs a trade surplus – or if it meant reduced imports of materials the US economy needs to sustain employment. [...] It seems that once again, Canada could face the repercussions of a policy stance that would weaken the US and other North American economies, and overall global economic growth. [...] Jon Johnson is a former advisor to the Canadian government during NAFTA negotiations and is a Senior Fellow at the C.