QUESTION PERIOD — Ministry of Internal Trade
Canada-Mexico Relations
February 24, 2026
Hello, minister. As an economist and former trade minister, I would like to commend your government’s efforts in the area of trade. I will be brief.
My question concerns Canada-Mexico relations and our apparent difference of opinions on the automotive issue with China. We matched Washington’s tariffs — which were raised to 100% — but Mexico never followed suit. Then, last September, Mexico increased its tariffs to 50% while we eliminated ours on Chinese cars. Could you explain that? Given that supply chains in the automotive sector are highly integrated, I don’t understand how to interpret the apparent lack of coordination with Mexico.
This was actually the subject of the conversations I had last week in Mexico with the Secretary of Economy, Marcelo Ebrard. I explained to him, as we did to our American counterparts, the targeted and time-limited nature of the agreement the Prime Minister reached with the Chinese government a few weeks ago. As you are well aware, we are returning, to some extent, to where we were in 2023. That is, we have decided to allow a very modest amount of Chinese electric vehicles to enter Canada and then grant import permits in exchange for significant measures in favour of the agricultural industry and —
