Readout
Today, the Honourable Mary Ng, Minister of Small Business, Export Promotion and International Trade, spoke with Katherine Tai, United States Trade Representative. During their conversation -which was Ambassador Tai's first international call since her confirmation-Minister Ng congratulated her on her historic and unanimous confirmation as United States Trade Representative.
Minister Ng and Ambassador Tai underlined the importance of the Canada-United States relationship and committed to advancing the shared goals of keeping supply chains open and resilient, meeting high standards for labour and environmental protection, fighting COVID-19, and supporting a strong, inclusive economic recovery by generating growth and creating jobs on both sides of the border.
They expressed their commitment to strengthening the 2 countries' deeply integrated supply chains, supporting North American competitiveness, and working together on trade issues. Minister Ng also raised the issue of U.S. tariffs on Canadian softwood lumber and solar products, as well as Buy America provisions.
Minister Ng and Ambassador Tai discussed building on the momentum established by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and President Joe Biden and supporting the Road map for a renewed United States-Canada partnership through the longstanding and strong trade relations between the 2 countries. They agreed to continue their engagement on the new NAFTA, addressing global trade challenges-including WTO reform-and strengthening multilateral rules-based trade to ensure the benefits of trade are shared by everyone inclusively.
