Canada Pivots Toward China and India as Trade With Washington Sours

Left out of talks to renew the North American trade pact, Canada is seeking new partners, and China says Canadian exports to it could double.

Canada is broadening its trade relationships as tensions with the United States increase. Ottawa has been sidelined in negotiations to renew the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, the regional trade pact, even as its domestic economy weakens, and it is trying to reduce its dependence on its southern neighbor.

The most striking sign came during a rare visit by China's foreign minister, Wang Yi, who said Canadian exports to China could rise by 100 percent by 2030, surpassing an earlier goal of a 50 percent increase. Canada is also looking elsewhere. It launched a trade and investment forum with India, where the two governments discussed a broader economic partnership.

The realignment fits a larger pattern. As the United States uses tariffs and trade leverage as instruments of policy, allies are protecting themselves by building parallel relationships. That accelerates the move toward a more fragmented, multipolar trading order in which Washington is one major power among several rather than the indispensable hub.