En tu idioma / In your own language

Eduardo del Buey
Foto: Ap
La Jornada Maya

Lunes 13 de febrero, 2017

“You’ve got the president of the United States coming up with policy at three o’clock in the morning on Twitter, so the traditional bureaucratic response … none of that works anymore. You need a war room to respond to this guy, and I think that’s what the Trudeau guys have wisely set up.”

So said Canadian pundit Warren Kinsella when he learned that Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has set up a “war room” in his office to coordinate the Canadian government’s response to ongoing fast-breaking developments in Washington DC.

The Canadian Government’s goal is to establish an “all of government” ability to respond immediately to any US initiative to address the United States’ bilateral relationship with Canada. Since Trump’s initiatives often come during a late-night tweet, Canada must be ready to respond immediately but realistically with sound advice to the Prime Minister and his cabinet, as well as to guide Canada’s interlocutors (bureaucrats and political staff) in Canada and the United States in their dealings with US opinion makers and law makers.

If one is to deal with Trump, one would do well to find ways to make him feel that he is winning, yet not appear weak. As he noted in his book “The Art of the Deal”, if his opponent is weak, he crushes him. If he is strong, he negotiates.

In Canada’s case, confrontation is not useful, since it will only make Trump more entrenched in his position. Friendly strength could do the trick. Trudeau has two things going for him: Trump respects celebrity, and Trudeau and his wife are global celebrities, and Trump wants to create jobs, and trade with Canada is responsible for 9 million US jobs and growing.

Shared interests could produce shared goals.

By tailoring his arguments to his desire to create more economic growth and jobs in Canada and the United States (along with Trump) Trudeau can give Trump a “win” that benefits both countries.

An “all of government” approach calls for close coordination both at home and in the United States, and the ability to respond quickly and effectively to Trump’s presidential style. It also requires leaders to understand that Trump does not make US law, the Congress does.

To meet this reality, Canada has sixteen offices in the US: the Embassy in Washington DC coordinating the efforts of twelve consulates-general, and three trade offices. Each consulate-general has a PERPA section (political, economic relations, and public affairs) division, and is tasked with liaising with the local offices of Representatives and Senators. They also engage key local opinion-makers and journalists to discuss Canada’s interests with local audiences, and underscore the impact on the local population of a reduction of trade with Canada (the number of jobs in a given city or state lost can translate into votes lost for incumbent Republican legislators in future elections).

The “war room” aims to coordinate a complex bilateral relationship that includes military cooperation, management of a huge trade relationship, security and border management, energy and water management, shared environmental stewardship and myriad other issues that require constant coordination. Since some of the issues will be more positive for Canada (bilateral trade favors the US) and others will be weaker (our supply management system for dairy and poultry products), all issues should be discussed simultaneously so that strengths and weaknesses balance each other and the overall relationship is negotiated on equal footing.

Rachel Curran, former director of policy to Conservative Prime Minister Stephen Harper and now a senior associate at Harper & Associates, told Canada’s The Hill Times on February 8th that the PMO’s (Prime Minister’s Office) new Canada-U.S. relations unit “is a really good idea…the fact that they’ve established almost like a political tiger team within the office I think is a really smart idea.”

While relationships always are created and exist between offices and other governments, “it’s not as common to establish a formal team,” she said, and “it’s an indication of how important they see the issue, and they’re right about that.”

Speed, coordination, and accuracy of response are key in today’s diplomatic world.

Canada seems to be organizing effectively for this brave new world.

[i]Mérida, Yucatán[/i]

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