Canada-United States Trade Negotiations: Continental Accord Or a Continent Apart?**
SHELLY P. BATTRAM* Canada-United States Trade Negotiations: Continental Accord or a Continent Apart?** 1. Introduction On May 21, 1986, the United States commenced historic bilateral trade negotiations with Canada which, if implemented, will impact substantially upon North American multilateral trade relations and the nature of North American manufacturing. This article attempts to highlight areas of dif- ficulty in the Canada-United States negotiations that could create major obstacles to their successful completion in a free trade agreement. In so doing, it considers the historical underpinnings of Canada-United States relations, the unique form of existing trade between the two countries and, finally, the results that the negotiations could achieve. Both Canada and the United States are experiencing severe domestic and international economic challenges. In an international setting of de- clining economic sovereignty and increased interdependence between na- tions, concern over economic vulnerability has come to the forefront in *Ms. Battram, a member of the Michigan, New York, and Ontario Bars, practices inter- national law in Toronto, Canada, with Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt: She is a member of the Council of the Section of International Law & Practice of the American Bar Association, Chairman of its Continuing Legal Education Committee, and Past Chairman of its Committee on Canadian Law. The author wishes to acknowledge her gratitude to Messrs. J. Timothy Kennish, Ross G. Gray, and Frank R. Allen, partners at Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt, for their review and constructive advice on particular sections of this article, and to Robert Yalden, a student at Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt, for his assistance in the preparation of this article.
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