Justin Trudeau Won't Say How Far He'll Go To Keep LGBT Protections In Trade Deal

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Sunday refused to say how far he's willing to go to keep LGBT protections found in the trade deal between Canada, Mexico and the United States.

The NAFTA update includes a provision – pushed by Canada – that encourages countries to adopt policies prohibiting discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity in the workplace.

On Friday, 40 House Republicans threatened to pull their support for the deal if the language is not removed.

“A trade agreement is no place for the adoption of social policy,” the lawmakers wrote in a letter to President Donald Trump.

“It is especially inappropriate and insulting to our sovereignty to needlessly submit to social policies which the United States Congress has so far explicitly refused to accept,” they added, a reference to the lack of such protections at the federal level.

Trudeau, an outspoken supporter of LGBT rights, said that the deal represents “Canadian values.”

“We got a good agreement that I think represents Canadian values, Canadian approach, but also values that are broadly shared amongst citizens of our three countries,” Trudeau is quoted as saying by the Canadian Press.

“In any trade deal, there are going to be people who would like this or like that or not want this or not want that. … But we're going to let the American officials and administration focus on their ratification process while we focus on ours,” he added.

Representatives Steve King of Iowa, Vicky Hartzler of Missouri and Louie Gohmert of Texas are among the 40 Republicans who signed the letter. King, Hartzler and Gohmert scored zero on the Human Rights Campaign's (HRC) latest Congressional Scorecard, a measure of a lawmaker's support for LGBT rights.

(Related: Steve King: Gay marriage ruling means “you can marry my lawnmower.”)

The agreement requires approval from Congress.