The alliance that Sheinbaum and Carney sealed a year ago to advance the USMCA does not appear to have been damaged by Canada’s split with the United States, reports Sonia Corona at El País.
The Canadian prime minister called the Mexican president on the eve of the end of his talks with Washington. “They underscored the importance of renewing the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement as soon as possible to provide greater certainty for North American businesses and workers,” the prime minister’s office said in a statement last Thursday night, without giving details on whether the battle between Canada and the United States figured in the conversation. Throughout the year Canada and Mexico have avoided getting in each other’s way to push the USMCA forward. However, Ottawa has borne more of Trump’s pressure, who has attacked the country and its leaders directly. “Canada has been ripping off the United States of America for years,” was his latest insult.
Sheinbaum, by contrast, has held numerous phone calls with the Republican, who has done nothing but praise her and granted some concessions. Mexico’s progress in negotiations does not appear to have damaged its relationship with Canada. “Mexico has been a reliable partner at all times, and will likely speak up for Canada if the chance arises, but it is unlikely to become a martyr for its cause,” Bradesco’s analysis adds. The September round of talks and the negotiations over sectoral tariffs in the coming days will provide evidence of the impact that the tension between the two northern partners will have on the future of the USMCA. “We are in a very good position because, if you average everything we export, we have some of the lowest tariffs of any country in the world. We have achieved that thanks to communication, negotiation, and the joint work of the team that has been going to the United States,” Sheinbaum said.