Canada's Trudeau faces domestic pressure to yield in Nafta negotiations

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is under increasing pressure to agree to a compromise on Nafta with the Trump administration, according to reports.

Trudeau has long held the stance that no deal is preferable to a bad deal but there is time for an agreement to be met as his foreign minister Chrystia Freeland is attending talks with US trade representative Robert Lighthizer in Washington on Wednesday ahead of a negotiation deadline of 1 October.

The stance is starting to worry business leaders as Donald Trump has threatened to impose tariffs on autos if Trudeau’s Liberal government does not yield, according to a report from Reuters.

Trump has previously labelled NAFTA’s current form as "the worst trade deal" ever signed by the US and threatened to pull out of the agreement entirely in April 2017.

The White House only agreed to renegotiate the deal, which was originally signed by US President George Bush Snr, Canadian PM Brian Mulroney and Mexican President Carlos Salinas in December 1992, after Canada and Mexico insisted upon it.

John Manley, a former Liberal finance minister who heads the business council of Canada, told Reuters: “Anyone who thought we were going to get something better than what we had under NAFTA 1.0 was delusional. We knew that this was all about taking some things away”

Trade minister for Ontario, the centre of Canada’s auto industry, Jim Wilson was also critical, stating that the government “bloody well need to get a deal,” while Ontario premier Doug Ford will meet negotiators on Wednesday to express his concerns.

Canadian officials do not believe that the US congress would ever exclude the country from NAFTA entirely but relying on congress entirely would be a he gamble for Trudeau’s government.

Indeed, US Republican house majority whip Steve Scalise said there was a “growing frustration” with the Canadian tactics among Washington lawmakers.