ARE CANADA AND MEXICO DOING ANYTHING TO SAFEGUARD THEIR ECONOMIES FROM SLAVE AND CHILD LABOUR?

Trump threatens to slap 25% tarriff on Canada and Mexico on day 1.

- DEAN BAXENDALE

The supply chain in today's global economy has become a complex web, stretching across borders and relying on countless moving parts.

Yet, it remains disturbingly easy for unsafe or unethical products to infiltrate this network. The just-released 2024 annual report from the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission underscores this growing risk, especially from China.

The report paints a grim picture of regulatory challenges, particularly with goods entering the U.S.through Canada and Mexico.

It raises a crucial question: Are America's closest trade allies doing enough to stem the tide of unsafe imports? The Trump announcement deals with another issue that was red meat for the campaign, Border Security. We will address that further in this column.

On November 19th the US/China Economic Security Commission submitted its report to Speaker Mike Johnson House and Senator Patty Murray. "It is the largest every report ever by the Commission, "said Jameson Cunningham, the Commission's Congressional Affairs and Communications Director. There is so much to digest in the report, but what matters to Canada and Mexico should be how we will work with our American cousins to protect the supply chain from illicit, slave and dangerous goods from entering our markets and disadvantaging US and Canadian manufacturers. The Americans have a lot more work to do. Still, Canada needs to do its part to fight against child and slave labour while ensuring that goods manufacturers under US and international sanctions are not using us as a transnational hub to circumvent such measures.