Canadian Foreign Minister Melanie Joly has announced her readiness to offer Mexico, the UK and the European Union a “coordinated“ response to threats made by Donald Trump to impose tariffs on these countries.
Jolie's proposal came before her visit to Washington, aimed at reducing tensions, reported Agence France-Presse, quoted by BTA.
Since returning to the White House on January 20, US President Donald Trump has used the argument from his election campaign to raise tariffs on some products from certain countries, including from the closest US allies, to obtain concessions on various issues.
Jolie assured the press in Ottawa that she was already in contact with her Mexican counterpart, adding that she would talk to European officials this week. The issue of tariffs would be “at the center“ of the discussions, said the head of Canadian diplomacy. According to her, from London to EU capitals, the talks are focusing on “different possible responses to the tariffs“. But "our goal is to make sure that tariffs are avoided, and we believe we can do that," she said. "We believe that diplomacy can work and that our case is strong."
Melanie Jolie will also meet her new U.S. counterpart, Marco Rubio, in Washington on Wednesday.
Donald Trump has said he wants to impose 25% tariffs on products from Canada and Mexico starting Feb. 1, criticizing the neighboring countries for not doing enough to control the flow of illegal immigrants and drugs like fentanyl into the United States.
For his part, Canadian Public Safety Minister David McGuinty said that less than 1% of the fentanyl and migrants entering the United States illegally come from his country. He is due to present details of a $1.3 billion plan this week. Canadian dollars (about 860 million euros) to strengthen security along the border with the United States.