The leaders in Canada and Mexico agreed on maintaining strong trade ties and safeguarding North American competitiveness in a phone call ahead of President Trump's major tariff announcement Wednesday which he is billing as “Liberation Day.

Seven years ago, when a joint bid by the United States, Canada and Mexico was awarded the 2026 World Cup, rifts created by tariffs — yes, back then, too! — and a proposed border wall were glossed over because of the neighbors’ longstanding political and economic alliances.

By David Lawder and David Shepardson (Reuters) -Canada and Mexico won protections against potential new U.S. auto tariffs in 2018 as part of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement on trade, but there is no evidence that President Donald Trump will honor those commitments as he imposes 25% duties on global automotive imports.