By Canadian Press

Freeland says Vice-President Mike Pence a valuable partner on free trade

May 23, 2019 | 11:59 AM

OTTAWA — Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland says U.S. Vice-President Mike Pence has been a valuable partner to Canada because he supports free trade.

Freeland says the government is looking forward to getting an update on U.S. efforts to ratify the new North American free-trade pact when Pence visits Ottawa next week.

Pence will be in Ottawa on Thursday following the Trump administration’s decision last week to lift its controversial tariffs on Canadian and Mexican steel and aluminum.

Both countries had said it would be difficult to ratify the new trade deal with the tariffs in place.

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Canada has yet to table legislation in Parliament to ratify the new version of the 25-year-old NAFTA, a treaty President Donald Trump has lambasted and repeatedly threatened to tear up.

Uncertainty continues to swirl in the U.S. over Trump’s ability to get the new trade pact approved in Congress because of an escalating feud between him and U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who is now openly criticizing his fitness to serve as president.

The Canadian Press