No tariffs among friends

Remarks delivered to the Canada-France Friendship Group

Stéphane Dion - Ambassador to France and Monaco and Special Envoy to the European Union and Europe

February 5, 2025 - The French Senate, Luxembourg Palace

President Chantrel, dear Yan, thank you for this invitation,

Senators, dear friends of Canada.

In tumultuous times, it's good to get together with friends. And to feel a bit at home, which as a former parliamentarian, is how I feel here.

You've chosen to focus on Canada. I can guess why. You love this country, one of the most beloved in the world according to all the polls that ask people where they'd like to live, if not at home. Being an ambassador for Canada during the Paris Olympic and Paralympic Games was one of the most enjoyable experiences of my life, because I was such a rockstar in my maple leaf cap and t-shirt!

Canada is a friendly country, the most European of the non-European countries, linked to France by history from the shores of the St. Lawrence to the beaches of Normandy, with a cutting-edge economy and, therefore, a business partner of choice, and with a soil bursting with the natural resources France needs to make a success of your digital transition and your energy transition to a carbon-neutral economy.

Canada is also a trading nation, with agreements that give it access to Europe (hopefully you will one day ratify CETA, the numbers are so positive for both our economies, including your agriculture sector!). Trade agreements also link Canada with the Indo-Pacific and... with Mexico and the United States, eh yes, even if President Trump has tried to deviate from this agreement by threatening to impose tariffs of 25%.

Whatever the reasons, President Trump's threats to impose his tariffs would be detrimental, even to the US economy. He says he wants to stem the flow of fentanyl and illegal immigration from Canada. But less than 1% of fentanyl and illegal entry into the United States comes from Canada. And since the two countries want to intensify the fight against these two problems, we need to work together to make border controls more effective, including to counter other scourges, such as illegal arms smuggling into Canada from the United States. This is what Prime Minister Trudeau keeps saying.

We now have one month to find a win-win solution with our neighbor and very first trading partner.

The imposition of tariffs would only harm our two countries, our workers, our businesses and our consumers, so intertwined are the two economies.

Just think: Canada buys more American goods than China, Japan, the UK... and France... combined!

More than half the goods exported by the United States predominantly go to Canada. Canada buys half the vehicles exported by the United States, including three-quarters of all trucks, and 36% of fruit and vegetables.

Canada is the largest export market for 36 American states, and among the top three for 46 of the 50 states. Yes, there are 50, not 51.

Canada is the most important source of foreign direct investment in the United States.

Canada is the largest supplier of energy to the United States. If we remove energy, it's America that has a trade surplus with Canada.

No less than 70% of Canadian goods exported to the United States are used in the production of other goods. They enter the value chain. The two economies are intertwined. You can't hit one without hitting the other.

I'm not saying that the United States should become Canada's eleventh province! I'm simply saying that they do not subsidize Canada. To support such an idea would be to disrespect Americans by denying them their well-known business acumen. If they buy our products, it's not to please us, it's because it's good for their wallets.

French senators, friends of Canada, I'm telling you all this so that you can prepare yourselves to develop your arguments, should President Trump, as he has threatened, launch a trade war against the European Union, on the grounds that you're not buying enough American goods and hydrocarbons, or even because Denmark isn't cooperating with his desire to “get” Greenland.

Mexico and Canada are the first dikes, but after that, it could be you.

If the Trump administration persists in wanting to close their market to us, let's further develop the links between our economies. As you know, Canada is a reliable partner that respects rules and treaties. In the future, France and Europe will need to secure new outlets to offset the harmful effects of any American tariffs. I'm absolutely convinced that we need to step up our exchanges to strengthen the transatlantic link.

Yes, Canada, France and the whole of Europe must cooperate together, on the trade front, but also in support of Ukraine, a well-functioning United Nations, the Paris Agreement, the transition to a carbon-neutral economy, the protection of biodiversity, development aid, peace in the Middle East, the responsible development of human-oriented artificial intelligence, the fight against tax havens, and all the causes for which France, Europe and Canada are in tune and eager to cooperate with our great American ally.

But for that, it would be better to have a stable France.

Having been a member of parliament myself, I know that it's not easy for political opponents to reach agreements, especially when it comes to the painful trade-offs involved in reducing a large budget deficit. This is true in the parliaments of all democratic countries: parliamentarians of left-wing persuasion tend to say "let's ask the rich for more", to which those of right-wing persuasion reply "let's free up the economy". In the absence of a parliamentary majority, there is no other solution than compromise.

At the next G7 Summit, under the Canadian presidency in June, no fewer than five of the seven countries around the table will be represented by a different leader than last year. The Germans will elect a new parliament at the end of the month and are expected to have had agreed on a new coalition government by the Summit. The Canadians will have a new prime minister in mid-March, and federal parliamentary elections will be held by October at the latest. Even the Belgians finally found a new prime minister this week!

What about France? Will the spirit of compromise prevail?

All I can do as a foreign diplomat is wish you good luck and tell you that Canada, the world, needs a stable France.

That's the gist of what I wanted to say this morning. But I have always more to say to my friends in the French Senate, so I look forward to answering your questions and exchanging views with you.

Thank you.