Notley talks free trade, border tax with Heritage Foundation and U.S. representatives

During meetings this week with American legislators and think tanks in Washington, Alberta Premier Rachel Notley found some common ground with a group on the opposite end of the political spectrum: members of the Koch-brothers-supported Heritage Foundation.

The right-wing think tank, which has received funding from right-wing billionaires Charles and David Koch, has had the ear of U.S. President Donald Trump and key influence during the early days of his administration. Trump chose a former director from the Heritage Foundation to help draft his first budget, which White House officials have said will involve deep cuts to the Environmental Protection Agency, renewable energy research and nearly every federal department except the military.

In a press conference on Tuesday, Notley said she talked with Heritage Foundation members about free trade, which the think tank strongly supports. Notley said she tried to emphasize contributions Alberta makes to the U.S. economy, including oil exports that power American manufacturing.

“You don’t agree on everything, but it’s also helpful to get an understanding of the perspective from which they are coming,” Notley said in a phone call with reporters on Tuesday.

Notley said she was also trying to pick up cues from the organization about what to expect from the Trump administration, including the likelihood of a Republican-proposed 20 per-cent border adjustment tax which could raise the price of Alberta oil moving into the United States.

House of Representatives speaker Paul Ryan and top Trump advisor Steve Bannon have supported the idea, which Trump proposed during the campaign.

The tax could be “much more complicated and more difficult to apply in practice than originally thought,” Notley said, adding that among members of the Heritage Foundation and others she spoke with in Washington, there was “not a consistent position” on the tax.

Notley has met in Washington with the governor of Morelos state in Mexico, and with the governors of Wyoming and Montana, as well as senators from Montana. She said she expects to meet with members of the Trump administration on Wednesday.

In January, Notley said she welcomed the Trump administration's decision to revive the Keystone XL pipeline, which would carry oil from Alberta to Illinois and the Gulf of Mexico.