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CTV News
8 minutes ago
- CTV News
Two of Canada's most senior ministers head to Mexico to talk discuss trade
The flags of Mexico and Canada fly near the Ambassador Bridge, Monday, Feb. 3, 2025, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya) Two of Canada's most senior cabinet ministers will be in Mexico City this week holding bilateral meetings with government officials and the Mexican president, as Canada looks to improve its trading partnerships outside the United States. Senior government officials confirmed to CTV News that the meeting, which will involve Finance Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne and Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand, will take place Tuesday and Wednesday. The talks are expected to cover trade and the larger relationship between the two countries. That relationship suffered in the past year, when Ontario Premier Doug Ford called on Canada to seek a unilateral trade deal with the United States – without Mexico – and accused the country of undercutting North American manufacturers. Canadian business leaders say the upcoming talks show an effort to strengthen ties at a time when both countries are facing volatility from the United States. 'When we talk to Mexico, when we talk to their embassies in Canada, they are very eager to reset the relationship,' Catherine Fortin-LeFaivre, senior vice-president of International Policy and Global Partnerships at the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, said Sunday. While Canada faces new blanket 35 per cent tariffs on Canadian goods that aren't covered under the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement, Mexico received a 90-day extension to continue trade talks with the U.S. before it sees blanket tariffs increase from 25 per cent to 35 per cent. Last month, Prime Minister Mark Carney and Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum spoke over the phone, with the two leaders agreeing to improve trade collaboration between the two nations. Carlo Dade, director of international policy at the University of Calgary's School of Public Police, said Canada having open dialogue and strong ties with Mexico is 'a good sign.' 'If we weren't talking to Mexico, there would be reason to be concerned and worried,' Dade told CTV News. He added that Canada hasn't taken advantage of being in close proximity to a country like Mexico that has a higher per-capita GDP than China. 'The infrastructure is there, we have CPKC - Canada-Pacific Kansas City Railroad - so there's (an) integrated North American railroad,' Dade said. 'We have a trade agreement, we have decades of strong, strong, political and economic relations – the only missing factor has been a willingness of Canadian business to seize the opportunities. Mexico has been marked as a priority market to expand trade with by Export Development Canada. While it is already Canada's third-largest trading partner, with nearly $56 billion dollars in two-way merchandise crossing the border in 2024, it represented just over one per cent of Canadian exports that year. Fortin-LeFaivre says those relations will be crucial, particularly if the United States looks to move from a trilateral free trade agreement to two bilateral deals. 'It will be imperative that if that is happening that we have a very strong connection with Mexico directly, without the U.S. being there,' she said. Friday, Carney reiterated Canada's commitment to the CUSMA agreement while condemning Trump's recent tariff increase.
CBC
an hour ago
- CBC
Champagne, Anand travelling to Mexico to strengthen Canada's trade ties
Social Sharing Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne says he and Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand will travel to Mexico City to look at strengthening Canada's economic partnership with Mexico. "The meetings will be constructive in that respect — looking at markets, looking at diversification, looking at strengthening our partnership with our Mexican colleagues," Champagne told Radio-Canada in Trois-Rivières, Que., on Monday afternoon. The news was first reported Sunday evening by the Globe and Mail. Two senior Canadian government sources told CBC News the meetings will be Tuesday and Wednesday. The ministers are expected to return to Canada on Thursday. The sources say the goal of the visit is to advance Canada's bilateral relationship with Mexico and strengthen trade ties. Champagne and Anand are expected to meet with Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum on Tuesday morning. Champagne said the visit "is all complementary to what we've been saying — that we need to engage with strategic partners around the world. And if you look at the [Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement] as a trading bloc, that's the second largest trading bloc in the world." "So it is important for us to engage with our Mexican friends," the finance minister added. One source told CBC that the trip "is all about relationship building," and the two ministers' expected meeting with Sheinbaum will lay the groundwork for a future bilateral meeting between the Mexican president and Prime Minister Mark Carney. Carney and Sheinbaum have spoken at least four times since the prime minister came into office. In June, the two met at the G7 Leaders' Summit in Alberta. A news release posted on Carney's website said he and Sheinbaum agreed to "deepen bilateral collaboration at the ministerial level" and they "looked forward to meeting again in Mexico in the coming months." Arturo Sarukhan, former ambassador of Mexico to the United States, told CBC News he thinks "it's high time that that co-ordination between the Mexican and Canadian governments kicks off in earnest." "There's really been very little engagement in terms of how we can both engage together vis-a-vis a common trade partner that is eviscerating all the rules of trade that have built this incredible success story of North American trade over the past three decades," Sarukhan said. Trump extends tariff deal with Mexico The Canadians' visit comes days after U.S. President Donald Trump announced he had agreed with Sheinbaum to extend an existing trade deal with Mexico for 90 days and continue talks over the period with a goal of signing a new deal. "Mexico will continue to pay a 25% Fentanyl Tariff, 25% Tariff on Cars, and 50% Tariff on Steel, Aluminum and Copper," Trump said in a Truth Social post. "Additionally, Mexico has agreed to immediately terminate its Non Tariff Trade Barriers, of which there were many." Canada did not get an extension. Trump signed an executive order raising tariffs on Canadian goods that are not compliant with CUSMA to 35 per cent. The carve-out for CUSMA-compliant goods means very few Canadian products will actually be subjected to the elevated tariff. The U.S. president criticized Canada's "lack of co-operation" in curbing the flow of fentanyl southward and for retaliating against his existing tariffs. Sarukhan said Sheinbuam has "avoided grandstanding from the presidential bully pulpit, engaging in the back and forth that Trump loves," but Mexico has also bent its knee to Trump. American officials have called out Canada and China as the only countries to retaliate against Trump's tariffs. On Sunday, Canada-U.S. Trade Minister Dominic LeBlanc said he expects Carney and Trump will have a conversation with each other "over the next couple of days." LeBlanc left Washington earlier this week without a trade deal, but told host Margaret Brennan, host of CBS's Face The Nation, that he came out of discussions "with a better understanding of the American concerns in the trading relationship.
an hour ago
Champagne, Anand travelling to Mexico to strengthen Canada's trade ties: sources
Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne says he and Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand will be travelling to Mexico City to look at strengthening Canada's economic partnership with Mexico. The meetings will be constructive in that respect — looking at markets, looking at diversification, looking at strengthening our partnership with our Mexican colleagues, Champagne told Radio-Canada in Trois-Rivières, Que., on Monday afternoon. The news was first reported Sunday evening by the Globe and Mail. Two senior Canadian government sources told CBC News the meetings are happening tomorrow and Wednesday. The ministers are expected to return to Canada on Thursday. The sources say the goal of the visit is to advance Canada's bilateral relationship with Mexico and strengthen trade ties. Champagne and Anand are expected to meet with Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum on Tuesday morning. Enlarge image (new window) Sheinbaum at the inauguration of a community hospital in Vicam, Sonora state, Mexico in mid-July. On Thursday, Trump posted on social media that he and Sheinbaum had agreed extend an existing trade deal for 90 days. Photo: Reuters / Mexico Presidency Champagne said the visit is all complementary to what we've been saying — that we need to engage with strategic partners around the world. And if you look at the [U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement] as a trading bloc, that's the second-largest trading bloc in the world. So it is important for us to engage with our Mexican friends, the finance minister added. One source told CBC that the trip is all about relationship building and the two ministers' expected meeting with Sheinbaum will lay the groundwork for a future bilateral meeting between the Mexican president and Prime Minister Mark Carney. Carney and Sheinbaum have spoken at least four times since the prime minister came into office. In June, the two met at the G7 Leaders' Summit in Alberta. A press release posted on Carney's website (new window) said he and Sheinbaum agreed to deepen bilateral collaboration at the ministerial level and they looked forward to meeting again in Mexico in the coming months. Trump extends tariff deal with Mexico The Canadians' visit comes days after U.S. President Donald Trump announced he had agreed with Sheinbaum to extend an existing trade deal with Mexico for 90 days and continue talks over the period with a goal of signing a new deal. Mexico will continue to pay a 25% Fentanyl Tariff, 25% Tariff on Cars, and 50% Tariff on Steel, Aluminum and Copper, Trump said in a Truth Social post. Additionally, Mexico has agreed to immediately terminate its Non Tariff Trade Barriers, of which there were many. Enlarge image (new window) Carney, Trump and Sheinbaum will renegotiate the trilateral free trade pact known as the U.S.-Canada-Mexico Agreement in 2026. Photo: Spencer Colby/The Canadian Press, Marco Ugarte/The Associated Press, Manuel Balce Ceneta/The Associated Press Canada did not get an extension. Trump signed an executive order raising tariffs on Canadian goods that are not compliant with USMCA to 35 per cent. The carve-out for USMCA-compliant goods means very few Canadian products will actually be subjected to the elevated tariff. The U.S. president criticized Canada's lack of co-operation in curbing the flow of fentanyl southward and for retaliating against his existing tariffs. On Sunday, Canada-U.S. Trade Minister Dominic LeBlanc said he expects (new window) Carney and Trump will have a conversation with each other over the next couple of days. LeBlanc left Washington earlier this week without a trade deal, but he told host Margaret Brennan, host of CBS's Face The Nation, that he came out of discussions "with a better understanding of the American concerns in the trading relationship. So we're prepared to stick around and do the work needed, LeBlanc added. With files from Philip Ling
