Trudeau in talks to attend first Three Amigos summit since 2016, source says

Discussions are underway to arrange an in-person meeting between Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, U.S. President Joe Biden and Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador next week, according to a senior source with direct knowledge of the situation.

The leaders of North America’s largest nations — sometimes referred to as the Three Amigos — have not held a formal trilateral summit since meeting in 2016 in Ottawa.

The target date for the meeting is Thursday, Nov. 18 in Washington, the source said. The details have not been finalized.

The source said the agenda for the proposed meeting will include the economy, trade issues and the ongoing response to the pandemic.

Reuters was the first to report on the possible meeting between the leaders.

The meeting would be Trudeau’s first summit with both Biden and Lopez Obrador. Barack Obama and Enrique Peña Nieto held the respective presidential offices of the U.S. and Mexico when the leaders met last in 2016.

The proposed meeting would also be the first summit of the three nations since they agreed to a revised North American trade deal, known in Canada as CUSMA.

Economic tensions between Canada, the U.S. and Mexico have escalated since that deal was signed, in part due to the Biden administration’s Buy American pledge, which would could impede trade across borders because of new rules that favour U.S. manufacturers.

Buy American provisions in the recently passed $1 trillion infrastructure bill give significant advantages to American companies competing for construction contracts. A separate bill would create a new $12,500 US credit for the purchase of electric vehicles, but only if they’re manufactured in the U.S.

Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland raised concerns about the Buy American plans during a trip to Washington in October.