Trudeau floats ‘other options’ if Mexico won’t address China trade concerns

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Thursday helium would similar Mexico stay a North American escaped commercialized spouse but “we whitethorn person to look astatine different options” if the state doesn’t code concerns astir Chinese manufacturers moving to wedge into the market.

Trudeau said helium raised the “real and genuine concerns astir Chinese concern into Mexico” straight with Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum successful a gathering connected the sidelines of the G20 leaders’ acme successful Brazil connected Monday. Those concerns person led immoderate Canadian premiers to telephone for Canada to onslaught its ain bilateral woody with the U.S. nether incoming president-elect Donald Trump, cutting Mexico retired of the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA).

The premier curate said his archetypal precedence volition beryllium to basal up for Canadian workers and the Canadian economy, and that Ottawa was “leaving each doors open” to unafraid those interests.

“Ideally, we bash that arsenic a agreed North American market,” helium told reporters astatine an unrelated property league successful Toronto. “But, pending decisions and choices that Mexico has made, we whitethorn person to look astatine different options.” He would not accidental what those options mightiness be.

“But fto maine conscionable accidental it again: my perfect concern is we proceed to enactment good unneurotic to support jobs successful North America from overcapacity oregon economical coercion that different countries person been liable for.”

Sheinbaum told reporters successful Mexico City connected Wednesday that Trudeau “doesn’t agree” with the calls to chopped Mexico retired of CUSMA, and that during their gathering astatine the G20 they agreed connected maintaining a three-way commercialized deal.

But she besides said she told Chinese President Xi Jinping astatine the acme “that we person a commercialized statement with North America, but that determination was country for a narration with China, which was precise important.”

Ontario Premier Doug Ford said past week that Mexico is “importing inexpensive products” from China, past “slapping a made-in-Mexico sticker connected and shipping it up” into Canada and the U.S., bypassing some CUSMA rules and Canadian and American tariffs connected Chinese vehicles. Trump has made akin comments astir China utilizing Mexico to entree the U.S. car market, threatening the American industry.

Ford called for a bilateral woody with the U.S. and a abstracted 1 with Mexico “if Mexico wants,” which Alberta Premier Danielle Smith said she agreed with “1,000 per cent” successful a CBC interrogation Friday.

Ford claimed Wednesday aft a telephone with his chap premiers that they each backed his request for abstracted bilateral commercialized deals with the U.S. and Mexico.

Trump has vowed to reopen CUSMA to code the contented erstwhile the commercialized pact is up for reappraisal successful 2026. He railed during the run astir Chinese automakers gathering manufacturing plants successful Mexico, which is not presently happening, though China’s apical EV shaper BYD has plans for a Mexican facility.

Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland said Tuesday that she shares the “legitimate” concerns astir Chinese concern successful Mexico, and the information Mexico has yet to align with Canadian and U.S. tariffs connected Chinese electrical vehicles and materials similar alloy and aluminum.

She said the concerns person been raised to her straight by some members of the outgoing medication of President Joe Biden and the incoming Trump administration.

“We are not a backdoor to Chinese unfair traded goods,” Freeland said Tuesday. “However, the aforesaid cannot beryllium said of Mexico.”

A study by the United States Trade Representative earlier this twelvemonth warned that U.S. manufacture stakeholders “expressed concerns that expanding Chinese overseas nonstop concern successful the automotive assemblage successful Mexico poses a important menace to the competitiveness of the North American car industry” and could let China to skirt tariffs.

According to the U.S. manufacture radical Coalition for a Prosperous America, which promotes the U.S. taking a combative commercialized stance, much than 20 Chinese car manufacturers person invested billions successful Mexico.

The Biden medication successful July imposed caller tariffs connected alloy and aluminum shipped from Mexico but made elsewhere, a determination meant to code the evasion of tariffs by China.

Deputy Mexican Foreign Trade Minister Luis Rosendo Gutierrez past period said Mexico would proceed to prioritize the U.S. and Canada owed to their strategical confederation done CUSMA, but that did not connote Mexico would “break with China” oregon “deny them investments successful Mexico.”

CUSMA’s rules of root clause requires higher levels of North American parts successful vehicles sold successful the 3 countries compared with NAFTA, which Trump has said China is besides trying to exploit by bringing Chinese components done Mexico.

Trump, who has vowed a broad 10 per cent tariff connected each overseas imports, has said Mexican imports could spot a 25 per cent levy if the state doesn’t stem the travel of migrants arriving astatine the U.S. border.

During the statesmanlike campaign, Trump said helium would enforce tariffs of astatine slightest 200 per cent oregon much connected each vehicles imported from Mexico — which would wounded American automakers successful the abbreviated word — and suggested levies connected Chinese companies who run successful Mexico and bypass CUSMA rules arsenic precocious arsenic 1,000 per cent.

Mexico has vowed to retaliate with its ain tariffs connected American imports if Trump follows done with his threat, which the country’s economical curate warned would bring economical harm to North America.

—With files from The Canadian Press and Reuters