CANADA'S MULRONEY SAYS U.S. TRADE DEAL NEARS
Prime Minister Brian Mulroney said
"significant progress" was being made in trade talks with the
United States and a profile of a major deal was emerging.
    Opening a debate on free trade in the House of Commons,
Mulroney said an accord would create thousands of jobs in
Canada and bring greater economic prosperity to both countries.
    Mulroney, who offered few new details of the talks, said
that while the negotiations were risky and difficult, "a
profile of a major trade deal is now emerging."
  In a 50-minute address, Mulroney made an often passionate
defense of the initiative that he said would give poorer areas
of the country a major economic boost.
    "Because of our trading patterns over a period of decades,
we are in the process of building two Canadas -- one that is
rich and promising, one that is under-developed and
under-employed," said Mulroney.
    "What we want is to make sure Newfoundlanders and British
Columbians and Albertans and others, that they get their
chance. They must be given the opportunity to trade their way
to prosperity."
    Few detials have been released on the trade talks which
were launched nearly two years ago between the two nations that
are each others most important trading partners.
    Recent published reports in Canada, quoting senior trade
sources, said the countries were close to reaching a trade deal
and it will involve eliminating border trariffs and many
non-tariff barriers over the next 10 to 12 years.
    It has been reported a key stumbling block in the talks is
a Canadian proposal to find a new way to settle trade disputes,
something that would give Canada protection from Washington's
tough trade remedy laws.
    But Mulroney, sharply critical of protectionist sentiment
in the U.S, said Canada was a "fair trader" and denied the
government was pursuing the deal to win unfair access to the
American market.
    He said a trade deal must bring benefits to both sides.
    "We recognize a good deal must be a fair deal, one that is
fair to both sides," Mulroney said.
 Reuter
