Finance and foreign ministers in Mexico to talk trade ahead of Carney’s visit

By Canadian Press on August 5, 2025.

OTTAWA — Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand and Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne are in Mexico to meet with President Claudia Sheinbaum to talk economic growth, trade and security.

Their trip is happening ahead of Prime Minister Mark Carney’s planned visit to Mexico to meet with Sheinbaum.

The U.S. hit Canada on Friday with a 35 per cent tariff on goods not compliant with the Canada-United States-Mexico agreement on trade, known as CUSMA, while Mexico received a 90-day reprieve from threatened higher levies.

CUSMA is scheduled for a mandatory review next year.

Ontario Premier Doug Ford called last year for a bilateral trade deal between Canada and the United States because he said Mexico was serving as a back door for Chinese auto parts and vehicles entering the North American market.

Anand and Champagne will also meet with Canadian and Mexican business leaders during the two-day trip.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 5, 2025.

David Baxter, The Canadian Press