KUALA LUMPUR, July 10 — Canada is seeking to finalise 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 (US), 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, adding that Canada believes the Indo-Pacific region will drive the global economy in the years ahead.
“The work is being done with alacrity to finalise the text of the free trade agreement. It is complex, but we are very much looking forward to it being completed as soon as possible,” she said, without providing further details,” she told Reuters in an interview, following her meeting with counterparts from the Asean bloc in the Malaysian capital.
Anand noted that 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.
Government data has indicated that Canadian companies are boosting trade with allies other than the US, and with smaller markets, as they try to minimise the economic damage from President Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Canada, the top supplier of steel and aluminium to the US, 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 US if no agreement is reached.
Anand declined to comment on the progress of the talks, but said Canada was looking forward to a constructive deal with the US.
“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.
— Reuters
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