US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson on Wednesday met Canadian Minister of Foreign Affiars Chrystia Freeland and Mexican Minister of Foreign Affiars Luis Videgaray and addressed US President Donald Trump’s trade policy.
Canada, Mexico and the US are members of the NAFTA free-trade bloc, which Trump has called a “catastrophe” for American jobs and has threatened to renegotiate.
Trump has also said that Mexico will pay for a border wall he plans to build on the US’ southern frontier, possibly through an import tariff.
Mexico has been offended by Trump’s talk of paying for the wall, while Freeland has made it clear that Canada does not favor tariffs either.
“Canada would respond appropriately,” she said at a news conference after her meeting at the State Department. “We do not know what the position of the United States will be when it comes to the notion of tariffs.”
A late-evening State Department statement said that Tillerson and Videgaray had a “constructive” conversation that touched on law enforcement, migration and security.
The pair “look forward to working together on the essential relationship between our two countries,” it said.
“It was a good first meeting,” Videgaray said. “We agreed that we will have frequent meetings.”
“Clearly, we are at a defining moment in the [bilateral] relationship and the Mexican government will continue to work with a positive and constructive attitude to reach good agreements, as long as it is in an atmosphere of respect for Mexicans,” he told Radio Formula later.
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