Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau declined President Trump’s invitation to meet this week with Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador to celebrate his new trade deal.
Citing scheduling concerns, a Trudeau spokesman announced Monday that the Canadian leader would skip the White House meeting in order to participate in cabinet meetings and “the long-planned session of Parliament” in his country.
“The entry into force of the new NAFTA is good for Canada, the United States and Mexico,” the representative said in a statement. “It will help ensure that North America emerges stronger from the COVID-19 pandemic.”
“We wish the best for the United States and Mexico at Wednesday’s meeting.”
While Trudeau remains in Ottawa, López Obrador and Trump will meet at the White House to mark the beginning of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, which entered into force on July 1.
López Obrador has come under heavy criticism in Mexico for making his first trip abroad as U.S. President, given Trump’s rhetoric on issues like the border wall and immigrants.
But the Mexican president has maintained a cordial relationship with Trump, and went so far as to publicly encourage Trudeau to participate in the meeting, without success.
Speaking to reporters on Monday, López Obrador said Trudeau had asked to speak to him and that they planned to speak on the phone later that day.
López Obrador began calling Trudeau to participate in the meeting after the Canadian prime minister said Friday that he would reject the invitation.
Trudeau cited concerns about threats of new U.S. aluminum and steel tariffs.
“Obviously we are concerned about the proposed issue of tariffs on aluminum and steel that Americans have recently raised,” he said at the time.
Trudeau was referring to the possible reintroduction of a 10 percent tariff lifted by Trump last year as part of the USMCA negotiations.
The Canadian leader continued to cite concerns about the coronavirus as another reason for wanting to limit his trip.
“We are also concerned about the health situation and the reality of the coronavirus that still affects our three countries,” he said.
Canada requires that all travelers entering the country self-isolate for 14 days upon arrival.
If Trudeau had chosen to attend Wednesday’s meeting, he would have been required to be quarantined when he returns, which would have caused him to miss the start of the Canadian Parliament.
A representative of the National Security Council, which is hosting Wednesday’s summit, echoed Trudeau’s statement about the meeting, which promoted that Canada “will continue[s] working with our NAFTA partners to ensure that this new agreement becomes a success for all three countries. “
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