US Secretary of State Marco Rubio travelled to Canada on Wednesday, marking the highest-level go to by a member of President Donald Trump’s administration for the reason that onset of a contentious commerce dispute with the nation.
Rubio’s journey comes as US-Canada relations proceed to deteriorate beneath Trump’s aggressive commerce insurance policies, which have included the imposition of tariffs on metal and aluminium.
Rubio is attending Group of Seven (G7) overseas ministers’ talks in Charlevoix, Quebec, the place he’ll advocate for additional assist for Ukraine, a key problem for the commercial democracies.
The G7 has largely backed Ukraine following Russia’s 2022 invasion, however Rubio’s mission is to push each Moscow and Kyiv in direction of a ceasefire, urging diplomatic concessions from either side.
In a extremely uncommon transfer, Rubio took a circuitous route, departing from the Saudi port metropolis of Jeddah, the place he met prime Ukrainian officers the day prior to this. Regardless of the usually routine nature of US-Canada visits, Rubio’s journey is about in opposition to the backdrop of more and more hostile relations between the 2 neighbours.
Since taking workplace once more, Trump has escalated tensions, mocking Canada’s place on the world stage. He even advised that Canada might turn out to be the “51st state” of the US and subjected the nation to a blanket 25 % tariff on metal and aluminium imports.
This transfer, which Trump imposed on Canada and different US buying and selling companions, has been described as a critical blow to the bilateral relationship.
Rubio’s arrival coincides with studies that Trump threatened to double the tariff charge on Canada this week. Nonetheless, the US president backed down after Ontario, probably the most populous Canadian province, agreed to ease a surcharge on electrical energy to 3 US states, briefly lowering the tensions.
Regardless of these ongoing disputes, Rubio acknowledged that each nations shared vital frequent pursuits, notably throughout the G7 framework.
“We should be sure that our shared work on international points shouldn’t be undermined by our variations over commerce,” Rubio mentioned whereas en path to Saudi Arabia for a separate diplomatic mission.
He added that he deliberate to debate commerce tensions with Canadian Overseas Minister Melanie Joly throughout his go to however emphasised the significance of constant collaboration on broader issues.
In the meantime, Justin Trudeau raised alarms concerning the existential problem posed by the US, with former Financial institution of Canada governor Mark Carney echoing considerations that the US is looking for larger management over Canadian sources and territory.
This sentiment deepened after studies that Trump sought to revisit the 1908 border treaty between the 2 nations.
Whereas Rubio didn’t remark instantly on Trump’s potential renegotiation of the border settlement, he famous that he didn’t anticipate the difficulty to return up through the G7 talks in Quebec.