'You're either with Beijing or you're with Washington': Ford says to Mexico in CNN interview
CTV
Ontario Premier Doug Ford has a message for Mexico as the threat of tariffs by incoming president Donald Trump hangs over both sides of the U.S. border.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford has a message for Mexico as the threat of tariffs by incoming president Donald Trump hangs over both sides of the U.S. border.
“Mexico has to make a decision: you're either with Beijing or you're with Washington. I'll tell you what Canadians are with. They're with Washington,” Ford said in an interview on CNN Tuesday night.
Ford has previously accused Mexico of becoming a “backdoor” for Chinese imports, including cars and other products, after the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (formerly NAFTA) was signed.
“Cheap Chinese products going through Mexico. They're slapping the ‘made in Mexico’ sticker on, shipping it up through the US and Canada, and costing American and Canadian jobs,” he said.
The premier’s remarks come under the continuing threat of a 25 per cent tariff by Trump on all goods from Canada and Mexico until both countries secure their borders against the flow of illegal drugs and migrants.
On Tuesday, the federal government announced it’s five-point approach to bolstering border security, including detecting and disrupting the fentanyl trade, new tools for law enforcement, enhancing operational coordination, increasing information sharing, and minimizing unnecessary border volumes.
Ottawa earmarked $1.3 billion for the six-year plan in Monday’s fall economic statement, though Finance and Intergovernmental Affairs Minister Dominic LeBlanc said the plans had been in the works long before that and were not made in an attempt to meet Trump’s demands.
