OTTAWA 鈥� Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland said Tuesday she shares the "legitimate" concerns of U.S. officials about Mexico becoming a back door for China to wedge its way into the North American trading regime.
Freeland said members of the outgoing administration of President Joe Biden and advisers of incoming president-elect Donald Trump have expressed "very grave" concerns personally to her about the issue of China setting up shop in Mexico to muscle its manufacturing into the North American free-trade zone.
"We are not a backdoor to Chinese unfair traded goods," Freeland said Tuesday. "However, the same cannot be said of Mexico."
Freeland has sought to reassure nervous Canadians that the country is in a good position with the incoming Trump administration, even as it threatens new tariffs, because Ottawa is moving in lock-step with the U.S. on Chinese trade irritants.
She said Tuesday sa国际传媒 is the "only country in the world which is fully aligned with the U.S. today when it comes to economic policy vis-a-vis China."
sa国际传媒 moved earlier this year to match U.S. tariffs on Chinese-made electric vehicles, steel and aluminum products, accusing China of overproduction and unfair trading practices.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau raised the issue with Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum in a meeting on the sidelines of the G20 leaders' summit in Brazil Monday. He called it a "frank" discussion.
鈥淭here are questions and concerns around some of the Chinese investments in Mexico 鈥� things that I highlighted directly with the Mexican president,鈥� Trudeau said at a news conference Tuesday in Rio de Janeiro. "But I also know that Mexico is dedicated to continuing in this extraordinarily successful trade deal."
While Ottawa bristles at Mexico by way of diplomatic blandishments, by far the boldest words are coming from two of sa国际传媒's premiers.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford turned heads last week when he suggested sa国际传媒 should forge ahead on a bilateral trade deal with the U.S. if Mexico doesn't clamp down on Chinese auto imports entering into North America.
On Nov. 12 Ford said that Mexico is "importing cheap products" from China, then "slapping a made-in-Mexico sticker on and shipping it up鈥� into sa国际传媒 and the U.S.
鈥淲hat I鈥檓 proposing to the federal government: We do a bilateral trade deal with the U.S., and if Mexico wants a bilateral trade deal with sa国际传媒, God bless 鈥榚m,鈥� he said. Alberta Premier Danielle Smith echoed that sentiment. While on the national TV talk circuit, she said she's "a thousand per cent" in agreement with Ford.
"We need to take a bilateral approach and put sa国际传媒 first," Smith said on CBC Friday.
This discussion is happening ahead of a mandatory renewal of the sa国际传媒-United States-Mexico Agreement that must happen by July 1, 2026.
sa国际传媒鈥檚 Ambassador to the U.S. Kirsten Hillman spoke briefly with media after attending a sa国际传媒-U. S. relations Cabinet committee meeting Tuesday, rebooted after the U.S. election to tackle emerging bilateral issues with the incoming Trump administration.
Hillman said the border, trade and tariffs are major issues currently preoccupying the government. "We need to be prepared," she said.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 19, 2024.
Kyle Duggan, The Canadian Press
