{"id":15135,"date":"2025-02-05T00:27:15","date_gmt":"2025-02-05T00:27:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/torontotribune.ca\/index.php\/2025\/02\/05\/canada-seeks-new-trade-deals-amid-trump-tariff-threats-inks-ecuador-pact-national\/"},"modified":"2025-02-05T00:27:15","modified_gmt":"2025-02-05T00:27:15","slug":"canada-seeks-new-trade-deals-amid-trump-tariff-threats-inks-ecuador-pact-national","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/torontotribune.ca\/index.php\/2025\/02\/05\/canada-seeks-new-trade-deals-amid-trump-tariff-threats-inks-ecuador-pact-national\/","title":{"rendered":"Canada seeks new trade deals amid Trump tariff threats, inks Ecuador pact – National"},"content":{"rendered":"


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As U.S. President Donald Trump<\/a> continues to hold out the threat of steep tariffs on Canadian imports, the federal trade<\/a> minister is citing a new deal with Ecuador as proof that its trade diversification strategy is working<\/p>\n

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Mary Ng told The Canadian Press the free-trade agreement with Ecuador, the sixth-largest economy in South America, is the 16th such deal signed since the government launched its trade diversification push eight years ago.<\/p>\n

A lot of the existing trade with Ecuador is agricultural, with the South American nation sending Canada bananas, cocoa beans and seafood, while Canada sends wheat, cereal and lentils.<\/p>\n

Statistics Canada says the top products traded between the two nations also include petroleum products, fertilizers and precious metals. Ng said she sees opportunities in services as well.<\/p>\n

Canada hasn\u2019t had much luck in talks with its traditional trading partners in recent years. The U.K. walked away from trade talks with Canada last year over access to the cheese market.<\/p>\n

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Ng said that while she would welcome the U.K. back to the talks, she\u2019s currently focused on expanding trade with other countries.<\/p>\n

\u201cCanada welcomes the United Kingdom back at any time they wish to come back to the to the table,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

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\u201cBut in the meantime, we have concluded an agreement with Indonesia. In the meantime, I\u2019ve launched exploratory discussions with the Philippines. In the meantime, we are at the negotiating table with the ASEAN group of countries and nations, and we\u2019ve just concluded Ecuador, and we will continue to take businesses abroad into these markets.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Ottawa is in trade talks with the ten nations in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). It also launched exploratory discussions with the Philippines late last year, around the same time it finalized a comprehensive economic partnership agreement with Indonesia.<\/p>\n

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Ng said she is considering travelling to Australia and Singapore this month as well.<\/p>\n

Boosting trade with ASEAN countries is part of Canada\u2019s Indo-Pacific strategy. But that strategy has encountered turbulence as well.<\/p>\n

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