Time to reset the NAFTA agenda

[unhappycamper]

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/economy/time-to-reset-the-nafta-agenda/article16919656/

Time to reset the NAFTA agenda
MICHAEL KERGIN
Special to The Globe and Mail
Published Sunday, Feb. 16 2014, 9:02 PM EST
Last updated Tuesday, Feb. 18 2014, 9:53 AM EST

On Sept. 11, 2001, in the eyes of most Americans, Canada’s geography underwent a radical transformation. Once a strategic asset providing depth of warning and response to Russian missiles, our vast territory became a serious security liability. Overnight, 8,000 kilometres of “undefended” border were seen to provide a gateway for terrorist actions against the U.S. homeland.

To relieve pressure on the border and to facilitate trade, officials from both countries are now engaged in mind-numbing exercises to seek regulatory “alignment” (mutually accepted levels of sugar in Cheerios), in legal tussles over differing definitions of privacy rights (grounds for detention at the border) and in debates over how to assess border threats.

This is not the NAFTA I knew.

Despite bureaucrats’ activities, the state of the Canada-U.S. relationship is stagnating. After eight months, Canadians await the arrival of a new ambassador. The White House is distracted by domestic economic challenges, a gridlocked Congress and geostrategic shifts in the Middle East and Asia.