Canada's Foreign Minister, Mélanie Joly, declared on Monday, February 24, that she is working on creating a "coalition" with European countries to address the threat of tariffs from U.S. President Donald Trump. Joly has been touring Europe and Africa for over a week and made these statements from London. She emphasized the importance of threatened allies working together and responding with countermeasures.
"It is important for allies who are under that threat to work together and act as a coalition with the same types of countermeasures to respond to the tariffs," the minister stressed. In the last 10 days, Joly has traveled to Paris, London, Munich, and Brussels as part of her efforts to create this coalition. Countries such as Brazil, India, Colombia, and members of the European Union are among those most affected by the tariffs imposed by Trump.
In this context, it is noteworthy that last Friday, the Trump administration proposed imposing tariffs on the use of Chinese commercial ships in order to counteract the maritime dominance of the Asian country. This proposal arises from a trade investigation into China's practices in the maritime, logistics, and shipbuilding industries that began during the Biden administration and concluded with a report days before Trump took office.
Joly's tour, which included her presence in Johannesburg (South Africa) to participate in the G20 Foreign Ministers' meeting, will conclude on Tuesday in the British capital. The minister's statements come at a time when Trump has reiterated his intention to maintain the 25 percent tariffs on Canada and Mexico, despite them being suspended until March 4. Canada has warned that these tariffs could trigger an economic crisis in North America with the potential loss of tens of thousands of jobs.
