Trudeau says Canada will work with China on trade deal

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Canada and China will continue to work together towards an "eventual" free trade deal, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Thursday.

This is despite the country being a signatory to the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), which specifies that if one of its partners enters a free trade deal with a "non-market" country, the others can quit in six months and form their own bilateral trade pact.

"This clause doesn't prevent us from doing what we're already doing which is indeed continuing to negotiate with China on an eventual free trade deal," Trudeau said in a town hall with students at the National University of Singapore.

"There is an element of transparency. We have to keep our partners informed on how we're doing," Trudeau added.

Under the clause, the countries in the updated NAFTA, renamed the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), must notify the others three months before entering into negotiations that could lead to a trade deal with an outside country.

Trudeau said that he and Chinese Premier Li Keqiang spoke about more than just trade deals during their bilateral meeting in Singapore on Wednesday.

"Yes, we talked about deepening trade ties, increasing flows of goods and services between Canada and China for the benefit of citizens and businesses on both sides," Trudeau said.

Source(s): Reuters