Canada and Mexico prepare trade beyond the T-MEC

Given the current geopolitical and commercial context, Mexico and Canada are working on an action plan for the coming years, with a view to increasing their economic integration, reported Marcelo Ebrard, Secretary of Economy, who assured: “we are not in a comfort zone like in the past.”

After a meeting with Canadian businessmen, the official explained that this plan will include topics such as minerals, investments in ports, infrastructure, security of supply chains and opportunities for young people from both countries, among others.

“In the recent 30 years, the (trade) relationship between Mexico and Canada has grown 12 times; so, how about we accelerate? Because that makes sense regardless of what the T-MEC review will be,” he noted.

The Mexican official’s statements came after a meeting with a delegation of 370 Canadian businessmen, in the context of an increasingly strained trade relationship with the United States, also a signatory of the North American trade agreement (T-MEC).

“There is no better time than now to forge these new alliances,” said Dominic LeBlanc, Minister of Canada-United States Trade, Intergovernmental Affairs, Internal Trade and the Economy.

Ebrard assured that Ottawa is a “very reliable partner for Mexico”, which is “very good” for the economy, in investment and trade.

In terms of minerals, the secretary highlighted that although Canada has great experience and a lot of technology, a “very important investment” by a Mexican company (he did not reveal the name) in the Quebec area is about to be made.

“It is no longer just a Canadian investment in Mexico, but it is beginning to become Mexican in that nation,” he noted.

The second issue, he added, is mineral refining processes, in which Canada has a “very big advantage” over Mexico; However, he said, our country no longer wants to continue only producing minerals, but also intends to process them.

The trade mission was made up of 240 organizations and 370 Canadian business leaders. It is one of the largest that has visited Mexican territory and arrives when Canada and Mexico are reviewing, together with the United States, the T-MEC amid the tensions caused by Donald Trump’s tariff threats.

Greater public safety

While LeBlanc noted that there is no best time to forge new alliances with Mexico, he noted that greater security is needed. “If we want investments and entrepreneurs to continue growing, they need to see the government working on priorities like that,” he stressed.

A few weeks ago, organized crime kidnapped mining workers from a Canadian company that operates in Mexico. Investigations into the case have confirmed the death of five of them.

In this regard, Marcelo Ebrard assured that this fact, registered in the state of Sinaloa, does not have to interfere in the relationship between both countries; However, he considered it “intelligent to include this issue in the bilateral plan” that will be developed in the second half of the year.