Canada, U.S. should eye own trade deal if no Mexican tariffs on China: Ford

Ontario Premier Doug Ford said Mexico "shouldn't have a seat at the table" in upcoming North American free trade talks if it doesn't match tariffs on Chinese imports.

Ontario Premier Doug Ford on Tuesday suggested Mexico “shouldn’t have a seat at the table” in upcoming North American free trade talks if it doesn’t match Canadian and American tariffs on Chinese imports — and that Canada and the U.S. should focus on a new, bilateral deal instead.

Ford’s statement comes as North America braces for the return of U.S. president-elect Donald Trump to the White House and a scheduled review in 2026 of the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA), which replaced NAFTA during Trump’s first term.

Trump, and now Ford, have accused Mexico of allowing Chinese companies to bypass CUSMA rules and export vehicles and parts into the U.S. and Canada through Mexican-built manufacturing plants.

“If Mexico won’t fight transshipment by, at the very least, matching Canadian and American tariffs on Chinese imports, they shouldn’t have a seat at the table or enjoy access to the largest economy in the world,” Ford said in the statement issued by his office.

“Instead, we must prioritize the closest economic partnership on earth by directly negotiating a bilateral U.S.-Canada free trade agreement that puts U.S. and Canadian workers first.”

Canada joined the U.S. earlier this year in slapping 100 per cent tariffs on Chinese imported electric vehicles and 25 per cent levies on Chinese steel and aluminum. Ottawa is undergoing further consultations on whether to expand the tariffs to other Chinese imports. Mexico has not followed suit.

Chinese automakers such as BYD — one of the largest in the world — are seeking to build manufacturing plants in Mexico, where a number of American companies are already building their vehicles at a lower cost. The fear is that those Chinese companies can then take advantage of CUSMA’s duty-free import rules and flood the North American market with Chinese cars while avoiding the U.S. and Canadian tariffs.

CUSMA’s rules of origin clause requires higher levels of North American parts in vehicles sold in the three countries compared with NAFTA, which Trump has said China is also trying to exploit.