Trump meets with Canada’s prime minister and Mexico’s president after the 2026 World Cup draw

(AFP) President Donald Trump met Friday with Mexican President, Claudia Sheinbaum, and the prime minister of Canada, Mark Carney, a spokeswoman for the Canadian leader told AFP.

The three leaders had previously attended the draw for the World Cup 2026, to be held next year in the United States, Canada and Mexico, in Washington.

"We have worked closely with these two countries, and the coordination, the friendship and the relationship has been extraordinary," the U.S. president said about the World Cup.

"We talked about the great opportunity that the 2026 World Cup represents for all three countries and the good relationship we have. We agreed to continue working together on trade issues," Sheinbaum said in a message on X.

Trump participated along with Carney and Sheinbaum in a mock draw in which each drew the name of their country.

"The three leaders met for approximately 45 minutes," Audrey Champoux, a spokeswoman for Carney, said in an email.

"They have agreed to continue working together on CUSMA," she added, making use of the Canadian acronym for the existing free-trade agreement between the three countries.

Canada and Mexico are partners in the North American USMCA free trade agreement alongside the United States, which was reached during Trump's first term.

Both countries are threatened by the vast global protectionist offensive launched by the U.S. president.

The challenge for the two neighbors of the United States is to renegotiate terms as favorable as possible under that treaty.

For Canada, it is also a matter of restoring a dialogue broken off in October, following a television advertising campaign against increased tariffs that outraged Trump.

Canada is the United States' second-largest trading partner and a major supplier of steel and aluminum to U.S. companies, especially in the automotive sector.

Mexico, for its part, faces a difficult economic situation in 2025 due to uncertainties surrounding the United States' trade policy, its main trading partner, and the destination of more than 80% of its exports.

This was the Mexican president's first face-to-face meeting with her northern neighbor, which is demanding more commitment from her in the anti-drug fight.

Mexico has deployed more troops on the shared border and deported dozens of drug lords to serve time in the United States. Still, Trump has hinted on several occasions that he would be willing to attack cartels on Mexican soil.