OTTAWA -- Trade Minister Chrystia Freeland says a 12-country trade pact can't move ahead without the United States.
That means the Trans-Pacific Partnership is dead in its current form.
U.S. president-elect Donald Trump was clear during his election campaign that he didn't support the 12-country trade agreement, but reiterated his intention to withdraw in a video posted to social media Monday night, calling it "a potential disaster" for the U.S. economy. Canada is one of the signatories, along with other major Pacific countries like Japan.
"The TPP agreement is so structured that this agreement can only come into force if six of the countries, covering 85 per cent of the GDP of the overall space, ratify the agreement," Freeland told reporters on her way out of cabinet Tuesday.
"What that means in practice is the TPP agreement as currently structured and finalized can only come into force if it is ratified by the United States."
She also noted the Liberals promised during the 2015 federal election to consult with Canadians on the agreement, and that the House trade committee is currently studying the deal.
"Our position on TPP is unchanged," Freeland said.
Countries have until 2018 to ratify the signed agreement.
'There is no TPP' without the U.S.
In question period, the Conservatives said the Liberals should be in talks with the other TPP countries to build a new deal.
"Why won't this Liberal government get beyond consultations and move toward liberalizing trade in the Asia-Pacific with the remaining allies?" trade critic Gerry Ritz said.
"Since the Liberals won't ante up to fill the void, countries like China and Russia will step in. Japan and New Zealand will ratify the deal this year, Australia and Mexico [are] not far behind. They're going to go it alone without the U.S. Why aren't we part of that?" he added.
Freeland touted the Liberals' pro-trade credentials.
"We got [the Canada-European Union trade deal] signed, something the previous government couldn't do. When it comes to the TPP, I welcome this opportunity to educate the member opposite about the technical details of an agreement his own government negotiated," she said, repeating that the pacific trade deal needs countries covering 85 per cent of the pact's GDP to sign on.
"That agreement, as negotiated by the [Conservative] members opposite, stipulates that the TPP can only come into force if it is ratified by the United States," Freeland said.
"That's absolutely false," Ritz responded.
Freeland didn't back down.
"I don't like embarrassing the member opposite," she said, repeating again the requirements for the deal to be ratified. "Even if all other 11 ratify, there is no TPP."
Conservative environment critic Ed Fast was the trade minister when the TPP was completed.
The Liberal commitment to consulting on the deal came two weeks before Canadians cast their ballots. That's when the 12 member countries reached an agreement and released some of the details publicly. Few details had been available before then, leading to complaints about the secrecy.
