Trudeau Skipping Trump Summit with Mexican President to Celebrate New NAFTA

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will not visit Washington with Mexico’s president this week to celebrate a new North American trade deal, his office said Monday, after Canada raised concerns over potential U.S. aluminum tariffs

Reuters

In a Monday morning phone call, Trudeau told Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador he hoped the talks with U.S. President Donald Trump would be successful.

Lopez Obrador, who had urged Trudeau to join him, is due to meet Trump at the White House on Wednesday on his first trip outside of Mexico since taking office 19 months ago.

Trudeau will be attending Cabinet meetings and a sitting of parliament in Ottawa, his office said in a statement on Monday.

“Trudeau was not sure about attending, citing tensions over possible U.S. tariffs on Canadian aluminum and concerns over the novel coronavirus”

 

“We wish the United States and Mexico well at Wednesday’s meeting,” the statement said.

Trudeau last week said he was not sure about attending, citing tensions over possible U.S. tariffs on Canadian aluminum. Trudeau also flagged concerns over the novel coronavirus.

In their call, Trudeau “expressed regret” to Lopez Obrador that he could not go to Washington, Trudeau’s office said.

Their discussion also touched on the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) trade deal that went into effect last week, efforts to fight the coronavirus pandemic, and investment in renewable energy infrastructure.

The two leaders expressed interest in meeting in person, Trudeau’s office said, without providing further detail.

Lopez Obrador said Trudeau was invited to Mexico, and after their call announced that the Canadian prime minister had agreed to visit the country “as soon as possible.”

Lopez Obrador said he will undergo a coronavirus test before leaving Mexico on Tuesday, and was prepared to have another in the United States if necessary. Lopez Obrador said he plans to return to Mexico from Washington on Thursday.

U.S. tariffs on steel and aluminum in 2018 led to a nearly year-long trade spat, with Canada levying retaliatory tariffs on U.S. goods until a deal to lift them was reached in May, 2019.

The NAFTA file had been in Chrystia Freeland’s hands since Trump first demanded the trade pact be reopened. ​As foreign affairs minister, ​Freeland spent months shuttling back and forth between Ottawa and Washington in 2018 and 2019, and continued to oversee the deal even after being named deputy prime minister after the election last October.