Canadian PM Trudeau not worried about fate of NAFTA trade accord

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TORONTO Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Friday he was not overly worried about the fate of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), even though both main U.S. presidential candidates have said they want changes to the deal.

Trudeau side-stepped a question directly about the outcome of the Nov. 8 vote in Canada's largest trade partner, but was quick to add in an interview at a Reuters Newsmaker event in Toronto with Editor-in-Chief Stephen J. Adler that the clock cannot be turned back on globalization, "nor should it be."

"I know that the rhetoric gets heated in election campaigns, but the fact is that NAFTA has been incredibly good for all three of our economies," he said.

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump has variously vowed to tear up or renegotiate the three-nation North American Free Trade Agreement. This could cripple Canada, which sends 75 percent of its exports to the United States.

">TORONTO Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Friday he was not overly worried about the fate of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), even though both main U.S"Mexico is the third partner in the accord.

Canadian officials also expect challenges if Democrat Hillary Clinton wins the election, noting she has also called for changes to NAFTA.

In the run-up to the election, Canadian diplomats have been fanning out across the United States to talk up the benefits of trade with state and local leaders.

(Reporting by David Ljunggren, Matt Scuffham and Allison Martell; Editing by Alan Crosby)