MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Trudeau not sure he will attend trade treaty celebration in Washington with Trump and Lopez Obrador

Mexico's President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, who is due to meet US President Donald Trump next week, has said he would like Trudeau to attend.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Friday he was still unsure whether he would go to Washington DC next week to celebrate a new North American trade treaty, citing concern about possible US tariffs on aluminum.

Mexico's President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, who is due to meet US President Donald Trump next week, has said he would like Trudeau to attend.

Mexican sources had previously said Lopez Obrador's visit was planned for Wednesday and Thursday, with the possibility of a trilateral meeting on Thursday.

“We're still in discussions with the Americans about whether a trilateral summit next week makes sense,” Trudeau said in a news conference.

“We're obviously concerned about the proposed issue of tariffs on aluminum and steel that the Americans have floated recently.”

US national security tariffs on imported steel and aluminum - including from Canada and Mexico - were a major irritant during negotiations for the United States-Mexico-Canada trade deal, which was reached last year and entered into force on July 1.

But now, US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer is considering domestic producers' request to restore the 10% duty on Canadian aluminum to combat a “surge” of imports.

Concern about the “health situation and the coronavirus reality that is still hitting all three of our countries” is another factor in his decision on whether to go to Washington, Trudeau said.