The Secretary of Economy of Mexico, Marcelo Ebrard, commented that an integrated commercial relationship benefits both Mexico and Canada. Ebrard praised the Treaty between Mexico, the United States, and Canada (T-MEC) as a great achievement and the best treaty. He highlighted that trade between Mexico and Canada is mutually beneficial.
Ebrard's statements arose in the context of comments from the Premier of Alberta, Danielle Smith, and the Premier of Ontario, Doug Ford. Smith supported Ford's position to exclude Mexico from the T-MEC due to Mexico's trade relations with China. According to Smith, Canada sees Mexico as an unequal partner to the United States and expressed concern about Chinese investment in Mexico, which affects the manufacturing industry in both North American countries.
Smith advocated for Canada to put its interests first and adopt a bilateral approach with the United States to strengthen its relationship. Specifically, Smith mentioned the energy sector as a key area of leadership for Alberta.
On the other hand, Doug Ford proposed the exclusion of Mexico from the T-MEC if it does not match the tariffs imposed by its partners on Chinese products. Ford advocated for stricter measures against Chinese products and proposed significant tariffs on imported products from China, in line with U.S. policies. Furthermore, Ford suggested that Mexico acted as a gateway for Chinese products and urged the imposition of tariffs to remain in the T-MEC and access the U.S. economy.
In response to these suggestions, Ebrard emphasized that the U.S. economy is considerably larger, so maintaining a trilateral relationship under the T-MEC benefits Canada, Mexico, and the United States. Ebrard stressed that it would not be advantageous for Canada to have a free trade agreement solely with the United States, and the same would apply to Mexico if Canada were not involved in the agreement.
