Throwing Mexico under the free-trade bus makes sense. But Mexico may have more to offer Trump than Canada does

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There was something almost comical about how quickly Canada — self-styled beacon of free trade and global diplomacy — moved to throw Mexico under the free-trade bus after Donald Trump retook the White House.

Ontario Premier Doug Ford led the charge, and before anyone could even call him an unsophisticated clod he had what seems to be broad agreement on this point from the other premiers. Then, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau warned that while he preferred the status quo, “we may have to look at other options” if Mexico doesn’t address “real and genuine concerns about Chinese investment into Mexico.” Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland said she shared “grave concerns” about Chinese goods entering the free-trade zone through a Mexican back door.

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It’s Trump’s show now. We’re all just background artists. We need the U.S. a hell of a lot more than we need Mexico.

I do have to wonder, though, how this looks to Trump. It doesn’t exactly telegraph strength or confidence heading into tariff discussions, does it? And it will be interesting to see which of the two countries can best assuage Trump’s concerns about trade and border security, and counter his negotiating tactics. I wouldn’t necessarily assume it’ll be Canada.

To begin with the silliest of Trump’s complaints, Canada is not a significant source of fentanyl entering the United States. Mexico........

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