U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent pushed Friday for Canada and Mexico to match Washington’s tariff hikes on China when asked in an interview if doing so could help them avert President Donald Trump’s fresh levies.
A month-long pause on U.S. tariffs of up to 25 per cent hitting Canadian and Mexican imports expires next Tuesday, and negotiations to avoid their imposition are ongoing.
“I do think one very interesting proposal that the Mexican government has made is perhaps matching the U.S. on our China tariffs,” Bessent said to Bloomberg Television in an interview.
“I think it would be a nice gesture if the Canadians did it also,” he added.
If both U.S. neighbours did so, Bessent said, “we could have Fortress North America” guarding against a flood of Chinese goods.
Washington has in recent times expressed repeated concerns over China’s excess industrial capacity, warning that this could bring a flood of underpriced products into the global market, undercutting competition.
At the start of the week, Mexico’s President Claudia Sheinbaum expressed optimism about reaching a deal with Trump on tariffs, hinting at possible levies on Chinese goods to secure a pact.
But when asked about the issue, Trump said that until the problems of illegal migration and drugs flowing into the United States were dealt with, proposed levies would go into effect as scheduled on March 4.
He also announced an additional 10 per cent blanket tariff on imports from China, on top of an initial 10 per cent that took effect in early February.
This week, Mexico extradited some of its most notorious imprisoned drug lords to the United States in a bid to avert sweeping levies.
They include a cartel kingpin wanted for decades over the murder of a U.S. undercover agent.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has said that officials are working around the clock to avert U.S. levies but would have an immediate response if measures were imposed next week.
