Summary
- PM Mark Carney to visit Mexico in September.
- Meeting with President Claudia Sheinbaum planned.
- Discussions to focus on boosting trade relations.
- Aim to navigate tense US trade tensions.
- Emphasis on reinforcing supply chains, infrastructure
growth.
Since he was re-elected last autumn, U.S.
President Donald Trump has threatened and imposed tariffs on both Canada and
Mexico.
Questions have been raised concerning Trump’s
disparate treatment of the two nations when he raised tariffs on Canadian
non-CUSMA-compliant goods to 35% earlier this month while temporarily exempting
Mexico.
By August 1, Canada made an effort to come to a tariff accord. However, by that deadline,
no workable agreement was on the table, according to Dominic LeBlanc, the
minister in charge of trade between Canada and the United States.
With the intention of completing a new agreement
during that time, Trump granted Mexico a 90-day extension of its current tariff
regime.
Carney is expected to travel to Mexico on
September 18.
Additionally, Carney’s visit coincides with the
imminence of a CUSMA review. Next year, the trade agreement, which was
negotiated in 2018 and went into effect in 2020, will be reviewed.
Although Trump’s 35% tariffs do not apply to
commodities that comply with CUSMA, the U.S. president has imposed additional
import taxes on a number of Canadian goods, including steel, aluminum, softwood
lumber, and some auto parts, regardless of whether they are covered by the
trade deal or not.
The assessment isn’t expected to begin until
July 2026, but there have been concerns that it might begin sooner.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford warned last week that
Trump could choose to suddenly “pull the carpet out from underneath
us” by opening up CUSMA as early as this fall.
“Let’s be prepared. I think it’ll be coming
in November. He’s going to come at us with double barrels, so we better be
ready and throw everything and the kitchen sink at this,”
Ford told
reporters last week.
What are the main topics Carney plans to discuss
during the Mexico visit?
Both leaders aim to boost trade between Canada
and Mexico, addressing challenges caused by US tariffs and exploring ways to
increase economic cooperation. They plan to discuss securing and improving
supply chains, which are critical for both countries’ economies, especially in
light of disruptions caused by US trade policies.
Enhancing infrastructure to support trade and
economic growth is expected to be a significant focus, including port-to-port
trade and logistics improvements.
Discussion will include the impact of US
tariffs, particularly the Section 232 tariffs on steel, aluminum, and
automotive imports, and the upcoming review of the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement
(USMCA).
