Kinew Urges Canada Against Concessions 08/21 06:39

   The premier of a Canadian province launched a blistering attack on U.S. 
President Donald Trump on Thursday, calling him a "bad person" and "not to be 
trusted" and urging Canada to keep fighting rather than rush to make 
concessions in trade talks with Washington.

   TORONTO (AP) -- The premier of a Canadian province launched a blistering 
attack on U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday, calling him a "bad person" 
and "not to be trusted" and urging Canada to keep fighting rather than rush to 
make concessions in trade talks with Washington.

   Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew said Canada has leverage in the talks even as his 
province weighs restoring U.S. alcohol sales at Prime Minister Mark Carney's 
urging to help secure a deal that would avert threatened 50% U.S. tariffs.

   "Everybody knows the American president by now, he's erratic, he's 
irresponsible, and he's not to be trusted. And this is the person that we were 
supposed to make a deal with, and we're going to make additional concessions 
for it. That's why I say you can't make a good deal with a bad person, because 
who's to say it's not going to be undone?" Kinew said.

   Dominic LeBlanc, the federal minister responsible for Canada-U.S. trade, 
said Thursday the two countries were close to finalizing an agreement after he 
returned to Washington to meet again with U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson 
Greer.

   "We're very close. We continue to make progress," he said, adding that 
Canadian officials would remain in Washington to keep working on the deal. 
Trump has called the emerging agreement "very fair" to both sides, while 
tariffs on about $20 billion worth of Canadian imports have been postponed 
until 12:01 a.m. Saturday. Neither side has released the full terms.

   Despite his criticism of Trump, Kinew said Manitoba may go along with 
Carney's request as part of a "Team Canada" approach. But he urged consumers to 
keep buying Canadian even if U.S. products return to provincial liquor stores. 
Other provincial leaders, including the premiers of Saskatchewan and Nova 
Scotia, have publicly backed the direction of Carney's negotiation.

   Newfoundland and Labrador Premier Tony Wakeham said all premiers agreed 
during Wednesday's call with Carney to return U.S. alcohol to store shelves, 
although not every premier has publicly confirmed that position.

   "I think we should fight. I think Donald Trump is very weak. I think America 
is weaker around the world today than it was a year ago. He's about to get 
slaughtered in the midterms and the cost of living is the number one issue and 
he's completely out of touch with the cost of living of Americans," Kinew said.

   "We've got the upper hand. They are back on their heels right now. They are 
coming to us for a deal right now."

   Restoring alcohol sales a sticking point

   Kinew said he understood Carney's request to mean that restoring U.S. 
alcohol sales was effectively necessary to complete the deal. The provincial 
bans on U.S. alcohol have been a particular irritant for the Trump 
administration, which has pressed Canada to remove restrictions that sharply 
reduced American liquor sales.

   Provincial governments do not have a veto over the overall Canada-U.S. 
agreement, but they control measures such as liquor sales and some procurement 
rules that have become part of the negotiations.

   Eight of Canada's 10 provinces restrict or ban U.S. alcohol -- measures 
imposed in retaliation for Trump's previous tariffs on Canadian goods and amid 
anger over his repeated talk of making Canada the 51st U.S. state.

   Kinew said Carney strongly pressed premiers to restore U.S. alcohol sales 
while other details of the agreement were still being finalized. "I wouldn't 
say that he was begging us, but what is the step before begging?" Kinew said.

   Ontario, Canada's most populous province, is especially important. Its 
government-run LCBO, one of the world's largest alcohol purchasers, sold nearly 
1 billion Canadian dollars ($723 million) worth of U.S. products annually 
before pulling them from shelves last year.

   Ontario Premier Doug Ford, who has clashed with Trump before, has not yet 
commented on the emerging deal.

   Kinew said Canadians should not buy American products even if they return.

   "When we put the American booze back on the Liquor Mart shelves, Canadians, 
leave it there. Spend your money on Canadian products that are going to employ 
people in our country and that have an administration that respects Canada," 
Kinew said.

   Kinew also said Manitoba could agree to remove formal restrictions on U.S. 
companies and products, including procurement preferences, while continuing to 
favor Canadian suppliers in its own purchasing.

   Kinew said he preferred to keep fighting, noting the U.S. Republican 
president's tendency to levy extremely high import taxes and then retreat. He 
mentioned what's known as the "TACO" trade, an acronym coined by The Financial 
Times' Robert Armstrong that stands for "Trump Always Chickens Out."

   "Do we expect that this is going to be the end of Donald Trump?," Kinew said.

   Quebec Premier Christine Frchette, meanwhile, said Carney had answered many 
of her questions about the emerging agreement but stopped short of endorsing it 
while the province assesses the economic impact. She said Quebec could restore 
U.S. alcohol to shelves at the SAQ, the Quebec government corporation that 
controls most wine and spirits sales in the province, but stressed that the 
decision would be Quebec's.

   Robert Bothwell, a professor emeritus of Canadian history and international 
relations at the University of Toronto, said Kinew's criticism reflects a 
broader Canadian view of Trump. "Kinew speaks for Canada," Bothwell said. "The 
majority of the Canadian people hates Trump."