Kuala Lumpur | Reuters — Canada is seeking to finalize a free trade deal with Southeast Asian nations as part of a push to expand into new markets, its top diplomat said, responding to the hefty tariffs imposed on it by the United States, its neighbour and largest trade partner.
Foreign Minister Anita Anand said Canada intends to continue a multilateral trade relationship with the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations. Canada believes the global economy will be driven by the Indo-Pacific region in the years ahead, she added.
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Why it matters: While Canada has pursued south Asian and Indo-Pacific markets in recent years, trade tensions with the U.S. have put a spotlight on the need for a greater diversity of trading partners.
“The work is being done with alacrity to finalize the text of the free trade agreement,” Anand told Reuters in an interview, following her meeting with counterparts from the ASEAN bloc in the Malaysian capital.
“It is complex but we are very much looking forward to it being completed as soon as possible,” she said, without providing further details.
Anand said the ASEAN-Canada FTA is one of the ways Canada can diversify its trade relations beyond the Group of Seven nations.
Beyond trade, Canada will also work with ASEAN on energy, food security, digital economy and artificial intelligence, she added.
Canadian companies are boosting trade with allies other than the United States, and with smaller markets, as they try to minimize the economic damage from President Donald Trump’s tariffs, government data has shown.
Canada, the top supplier of steel and aluminum to the United States, faces tariffs imposed by Trump on both metals and on auto exports.
The government is hoping to reach a trade deal with Washington by July 21 and could impose counter-duties on the United States if no agreement is reached.
Anand declined to comment on how the talks are progressing, but said Canada was looking forward to a constructive deal with the United States.
“Our trade negotiators… are engaged in the complex trade negotiations to ensure that Canada’s interests are put forward in the best possible way,” she said.
