ottawa<u+2014>as canada braces for a new u.s. president who has vowed to shake up global trade , prime minister justin trudeau said<u+00a0>thursday<u+00a0>he is open to talks with president-elect donald trump about ways to improve the plight of workers under the north american free trade agreement. mr. trudeau said he spoke briefly<u+00a0>wednesday<u+00a0>night with mr. trump, in which he told mr. trump he is ready to work constructively with the incoming administration on bolstering u.s-canada ties. canada<u+2019>s economy relies heavily on exports to the u.s. under nafta, and mr. trump has vowed to repeal the agreement unless he can renegotiate better terms for washington . <u+201c>if americans want to talk about nafta, i am more than happy to talk about it,<u+201d> the canadian leader told reporters at an event in sydney, nova scotia. <u+201c>we can look toward how to improve the benefits for workers and citizens and economic growth.<u+201d> canadian officials have been relying on nonenergy exports to the u.s. to offset some of the fallout from lower commodity prices. exports have disappointed though , prompting the bank of canada to downgrade the economic outlook, maintain its policy rate at 0.5% and <u+201c>actively<u+201d> discuss at recent meetings providing further easing to stoke growth. canada<u+2019>s trade surplus with the u.s. climbed over the decades under nafta, to roughly 117 billion canadian dollars ($87.46 billion) last year from about c$37 billion in 1993, according to national bank financial. roughly three-quarters of canadian exports are u.s.-bound, so any<u+00a0>push by mr. trump <u+201c>to let air out of nafta tires would be bad news for canadian growth,<u+201d> economists at the investment bank said. while most of mr. trump<u+2019>s ire over nafta is focused on mexico, trade watchers suggest mr. trudeau must be at the table when it comes to any nafta renegotiation<u+2014>if only to protect canada from tariff increases. for now, mr. trump and his team will wait to see how canada and mexico react, said eric miller, head of the washington-based rideau potomac strategy group, a consultancy that specializes in north american trade. <u+201c>they know canada has to be at the table if this nafta renegotiation is going to happen.<u+201d> mr. miller added that mr. trump and his team likely don<u+2019>t have much concern over canadian trade, outside of certain agricultural products such as dairy, and lumber. in 2015, canada was the u.s.<u+2019>s largest trading partner, with two-way trade<u+2014>exports plus imports<u+2014>totaling $671.5 billion, according to data from the bureau of economic analysis. write to paul vieira at paul.vieira@wsj.com
canada<u+2019>s trudeau signals readiness to talk trade with donald trump  - wsj
paul vieira