Dominic LeBlanc, minister responsible for Canada-U.S. trade, then Intergovernmental Affairs Minister rises during question period in the House of Commons on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on June 13, 2023. (screen shot, ParlVU)
Canada-U.S. Trade Minister Dominic LeBlanc says Canada’s trade mission to Mexico has resulted in 15 new partnerships and business deals being signed to date, as Ottawa continues its push to expand exports beyond the United States.
LeBlanc made the remarks on Feb. 18 during a press briefing in Monterrey, Mexico, alongside Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food Heath MacDonald, as part of this week’s visit to the country. The trade trip runs through Feb. 20 and includes more than 240 businesses and 370 delegates from across Canada.
The objective was to strengthen economic ties, diversify trade, and “advance prosperity in Canada and in North America,” LeBlanc said.
“Thus far, national business associations and Canadian companies from Quebec, British Columbia, Alberta, and Newfoundland and Labrador have signed 15 commercial partnerships and deals,” he added.
LeBlanc said many small- and medium-sized Canadian businesses are taking part in roughly 1,900 business-to-business meetings with their Mexican counterparts on the trade mission. He said the trade trip plays a part in meeting Prime Minister Mark Carney’s goal of doubling non-U.S. exports by 2035.
The trade mission’s first three days also involved meetings with Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum and members of her cabinet. LeBlanc said the two nations reviewed progress on the Canada-Mexico Action Plan on closer Canada-Mexico ties signed last September between Carney and Sheinbaum.
LeBlanc said he also met with Mexico’s Secretary of Economy Marcelo Ebrard to discuss the upcoming review of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) in July. LeBlanc said the two nations did not discuss options for what to do if the United States decides to pursue bilateral relations instead of moving forward with a renewal or extension the free trade agreement.
U.S. President Donald Trump has recently called the trade agreement “irrelevant” and said it may have served its purpose. U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer has also said he’s open to negotiating separate trade agreements with Canada and Mexico instead of renewing the USMCA.
Prime Minister Mark Carney has said that under the USMCA, more than 85 percent of Canadian exports to the United States remain tariff-free. Other Canadian industries including steel, aluminum, softwood lumber, and certain automobiles are subject to varying sectoral tariffs.
LeBlanc has previously said he doesn’t believe the Trump administration will exit the USMCA. He has also said his Mexican counterparts share the same view.
Greer said last week that Canada’s trade barriers make it “challenging” to begin talks about reviewing or renewing the USMCA.
“They continue to have certain barriers,” he said in a Feb. 10 interview on Fox Business. “They refuse to sell U.S. wine and spirits on their shelves. There are a variety of issues that they have not addressed and they aren’t addressing, and this makes it a big challenge and an obstacle for starting real negotiations with them.”
LeBlanc commented on Greer’s criticisms on Feb. 18. He said the countries have agreed to meet in the “next few weeks” and had a “productive and cordial phone conversation.”
“We have been doing the work necessary in Canada to prepare for this not surprising review that was built into the agreement six years ago. And so have the Mexicans and so have the Americans,” he said. “I think that those conversations can be fruitful.”
Agriculture
MacDonald said Canada also hopes to deepen agricultural ties with Mexico.
“Expanding our partnerships and building trade relationships with Mexico is a top priority, obviously, for our government, and it will allow us to increase and diversify our exports to this region,” MacDonald said.
He added that Canada and Mexico have a highly integrated agricultural supply chain between the two countries that he said “brings both our economies value.”
“Canada exports safe, high-quality products such as grains and meats, while Mexico supplies Canadians with fresh fruits, vegetables, and meat year round,” he said. “It’s extremely important that we do everything we can in the geopolitical times we find ourselves in to diversify our trade.”
LeBlanc said companies will receive ongoing support from Canada’s Trade Commissioner Service “to get their products into Mexico’s growing and dynamic market.”