Canada says North American free trade partners should be fully aligned on China

OTTAWA (Reuters) – Canada thinks the members of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada trade pact have a chance to produce a fully aligned policy on China, Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland said on Friday.

Freeland made her remarks when asked by reporters about U.S. and Canadian fears that China could use the agreement as a back door to export cheap goods into North America.

The most populous Canadian province, Ontario, proposed booting Mexico from the free-trade pact and signing a bilateral agreement with the U.S., which is home to three-fourths of Canada’s total exports.

“We think that today, there is an opportunity for all of the (USMCA) countries to work together to have a fully aligned policy on China, to protect all of our workers and to ensure that we are supporting each other in this really important effort,” Freeland said.

Canada and the United States have slapped tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles and steel, citing what they call Beijing’s deliberate policy of over-capacity.

Freeland reiterated that Canada’s preference was for the USMCA deal to remain a three-nation pact.