U.S. won’t drop digital issues in trade talks: former negotiator

OTTAWA — Canada’s former chief trade negotiator says that while digital issues will continue to be a source of trade tensions with the U.S., Canada can gain strength if it teams up with other allies that have similar interests.

Steve Verheul says the United States won’t simply drop issues like the Online News Act and digital sovereignty that it has identified as trade irritants.

He says the cultural exemption Canada has under the current trade agreement can only go so far because it allows the Americans to automatically retaliate if it is used.

Verheul says the United States views policies targeting big tech companies as discriminatory, and it’s difficult to design non-discriminatory policies because of how many of the largest digital companies are American.