Premier Doug Ford has suggested leaving Mexico out of the trade deal if it does not apply the same tariffs that the US and Canada charge on imports from China.
The premier of Canada’s largest province has proposed that the country negotiate its own USMCA with the United States — unless Mexico aligns with its North American partners on Chinese imports.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford has demanded that Mexico “at a minimum” match US and Canadian tariffs on Chinese imports.
Ford’s comments underscore the high stakes for Canada and Mexico as Donald Trump prepares to return to the White House. The president-elect has promised tariffs on imported goods and a renegotiation of the USMCA that links the three countries.
Ontario, with a population of about 16 million people, is the heart of Canada’s auto industry. It is home to assembly lines owned by Ford Motor, General Motors, Toyota, Honda, and Chrysler parent Stellantis as well as parts makers serving plants on both sides of the Canada-U.S. border.
In July of this year, the Treasury Department said the country imports about $119 billion annually from China.
In August, Canada announced it would slap a 100 percent tariff on electric cars and a 25 percent tariff on steel and aluminum from China — levels broadly in line with those proposed by Joe Biden’s administration.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government has also opened consultations on possible tariffs on other Chinese-made products, including batteries, battery components, and semiconductors.
Mexico has argued it is already doing its part, imposing tariffs on Chinese steel in early 2024 designed to stem the flow after the U.S. complained that the material ends up in products shipped north across the border.
Officials under President Claudia Sheinbaum have been talking about how to close their trade imbalance with China and strengthen ties with their North American partners.
At a press conference on Nov. 12, Ford admitted that it would welcome a separate bilateral trade deal between Mexico and Canada, but stressed that it believed Mexican products were undercutting Canadian ones.
Doug Ford declared:
Free trade needs to be fair. Since signing on to the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, Mexico has allowed itself to become a backdoor for Chinese cars, auto parts, and other products into Canadian and American markets, putting Canadian and American workers’ livelihoods at risk while undermining our communities and doing enormous harm to our shared economic success.
If Mexico won’t fight transshipment by, at the very least, matching Canadian and American tariffs on Chinese imports, they shouldn’t have a seat at the table or enjoy access to the largest economy in the world. Instead, we must prioritize the closest economic partnership on earth by directly negotiating a bilateral U.S.-Canada free trade agreement that puts U.S. and Canadian workers first.
The prime minister’s comments follow a warning from Trudeau, who declared last week that American workers would suffer the consequences of any tariffs or trade barriers imposed on Canadian goods by the new Donald Trump administration.
Any tariff regime would also have “a very serious impact on Canadian jobs,” warned Lana Payne, national president of Unifor, the union that represents thousands of Canadian auto workers.
Source: El Financiero
