Overseas Minister Anita Anand mentioned Tuesday it might be “superficial” to match the approaches Canada and Mexico have taken to navigating commerce negotiations with the US, given how totally different their financial relationships with the U.S. are, regardless of solely Canada going through rising tariffs.
Anand and Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne met with Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum and their ministerial counterparts in Mexico Metropolis to speak financial development, commerce and safety.
The 2-day journey comes as many Canadians marvel why the U.S. hit Canada on Friday with a 35 per cent tariff on items not compliant with the Canada-United States-Mexico settlement on commerce, often called CUSMA, whereas Mexico obtained a 90-day reprieve from threatened larger U.S. levies. The U.S. counts Canada and Mexico amongst its largest buying and selling companions.
U.S. President Donald Trump mentioned final week the 90-day interval would permit room to barter a brand new commerce cope with Mexico — one thing Canada can also be presently making an attempt to safe.
Requested if the ministers took away something from their conversations with Sheinbaum that would assist these talks alongside, Anand recommended the assembly was rather more targeted on Canada’s relationship with Mexico and “the need for a robust North American economic system.”
“I need to stress that Canada’s financial relationship with the US differs considerably from Mexico’s,” she instructed reporters at a digital briefing.
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“To parse out particular person parts of 1 nation’s negotiations versus our personal is considerably superficial, as a result of the connection is so very complicated.”
Previous to the assembly, Mexican Financial system Minister Marcelo Ebrard recommended he could be talking with Champagne about concerning the two international locations’ experiences in coping with U.S. tariffs.
“They need to know the way Mexico is getting these outcomes,” Ebrard instructed journalists.
“We’re going to trade experiences. They’re paying a 35 per cent tariff, and Mexico isn’t.”
Champagne added the talks targeted on strengthening partnerships with Mexico on vitality, synthetic intelligence and different areas of cooperation.
He mentioned the assembly was an instance of Canada’s technique of diversifying its worldwide relationships within the face of unpredictability from the Trump administration, calling it the best technique for Canadians.
Mexico secured the three-month reprieve after talking with Trump straight final week.
Prime Minister Mark Carney confirmed Tuesday at an occasion in British Columbia that he has not spoken to Trump “in latest days,” after beforehand holding a number of oblique conversations with the U.S. president within the weeks earlier than Trump raised tariffs on Canada.
“We’ll communicate when it is smart,” he instructed reporters.
Sheinbaum posted on X after Tuesday’s assembly that Canada and Mexico have been “strengthening the connection between our international locations.”
Ontario Premier Doug Ford final yr known as for a bilateral commerce deal between Canada and the US as a result of he mentioned Mexico was serving as a again door for Chinese language auto components and automobiles getting into the North American market. These calls earned assist from former prime minister Justin Trudeau and then-deputy prime minister Chrystia Freeland, now the transport minister.
Anand mentioned Sheinbaum’s presence at this summer time’s G7 summit in Alberta, the place she met with Prime Minister Mark Carney, started the method of repairing the Canada-Mexico relationship and that this week’s conferences continued that course of.
She known as the conferences “productive” in a put up on X.
“These discussions with the president and members of her authorities superior key shared priorities by way of financial development, safety and commerce diversification,” she added.
Each Anand and Champagne harassed that CUSMA, which is due for a compulsory evaluation subsequent yr, stays in the perfect pursuits of all three North American companions and must be preserved and strengthened.
—with recordsdata from Reuters
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