TPP deal overshadowed by NAFTA uncertainty

The news that Canada has reached a deal on a new free trade agreement with the remaining ten TPP countries is no game changer since, even in the long term, the boost to Canadian GDP will be a trivial 0.1%. Nevertheless, like the earlier CETA agreement with the European Union, it does illustrate that Canada is taking steps to become less dependent on its southern neighbour and, at the margin, this might give it a slightly stronger hand to play in the current NAFTA negotiations with the US.