Danielle Smith echoes Doug Ford's concerns about Mexico trade, hopes for 'carve out'

United Conservative Party leader Danielle Smith addresses party members at their annual meeting in Red Deer, Alta., Saturday, Nov. 2, 2024. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh)

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith is echoing concerns about Mexico that were expressed earlier this week by Ontario's premier, saying she hopes Canada can get a "carve-out" from import tariffs that president-elect Donald Trump is promising.

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Smith told her provincewide radio call-in program Saturday that advice she received from Robert Lighthizer, Trump's former trade chief, was that governments north of the border should take a "Canada first" approach, noting Mexico was inviting investment from China.

She said that was undercutting the manufacturing sector in both the U.S. and Canada.

Ford on Tuesday issued a statement saying that since signing on to the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, Mexico has allowed itself to become a back door for Chinese cars, auto parts and other products into Canadian and American markets.

He later told reporters at an unrelated news conference that he's proposing the Canadian government make its own a bilateral trade deal with the U.S., and if Mexico then wants to make a separate deal with Canada, "God bless them."

Smith said Saturday that a 10-per-cent tariff, which Trump has promised for all imports when he becomes president in January, would be very damaging to Canada and she's already been speaking with other premiers and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland about it.

"And so my advice is, as is Doug's, is let's take a Canada-first approach and let's see if we can get a carve-out for all of Canada, because we do have balanced trade with the United States," Smith told her radio audience.

The Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement, negotiated under the first Trump administration, is up for review in 2026.

Ford said if Mexico won’t at least match Canadian and American tariffs on Chinese imports, they "shouldn’t have a seat at the table."

"You look at Mexico, they're importing cheap products, undercutting our hard-working men and women, not only here, but in the U.S.," Ford said Tuesday.

"They're slapping a 'Made in Mexico' sticker on, and shipping it up, taking our hard-working men and women's jobs away from them. Unacceptable."

The threat of the tariff is causing a lot of concern north of the border, where the Canadian Chamber of Commerce has said such a move could take a $30-billion bite out of the Canadian economy.

Some energy experts, however, have said they don't believe an across-the-board tariff of 10 per cent on all imports will apply to Canadian oil.

Freeland said this week that she's heard concerns from people close to the incoming Trump administration, the outgoing Biden administration and some business leaders that Mexico is not acting as Canada and the U.S. are in their economic relationship with China.

"I do have some sympathy with those concerns we've heard from our American counterparts," Freeland told reporters when asked about the issue during a news conference.

Smith said a bargaining chip Canada will have with the U.S. is that we're a reliable source for energy, and she also thinks there's an opportunity to expand pipelines into the U.S.

She said an important consideration in trade issues under a Trump administration is that he's been clear about his concerns about China and border security. He's also expressed his desire for NATO countries to meet two per cent of GDP on defence.

Trudeau has promised to meet the target by 2032.

"Let's rapidly get to our two-per-cent NATO target so they will care about the things we care about, which is maintaining that cross-border trade," Smith said.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 16, 202