Canada wants to deepen trade ties with the Philippines

MANILA, Philippines — Canada sees greater opportunities to expand trade with the Philippines amid global uncertainty over the United States’ tariff policy.

Canada Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food Heath MacDonald said that although US tariffs posed concerns, such levies also provide a window of opportunity to forge closer ties with trade partners, including the Philippines.

“I look at the US tariffs, obviously, it’s a concern. There’s a lot of uncertainty out there, and it's certainly something that it's challenging right now for every country that's affected by it,” MacDonald said in a media roundtable on Tuesday evening.

“But I also see it as opportunity and the secretary of agriculture and I discussed this pointedly... it’s giving us an opportunity to come together as countries and do more,” he added.

Amid US President Donald Trump’s flip-flopping tariff stance, MacDonald emphasized that Canada “can be a trusted partner” in global trade.

“And we're seeing that we need to diversify and we can't depend on partners that we can't trust. Period,” MacDonald told reporters.

READ: Higher US tariffs kick in for dozens of trading partners

Areas of interest

Canada is keen to boost trade of key products like beef, seafood and malting barley.

David Hartman, Canada’s Ambassador to the Philippines, said the two nations were engaged in “scoping discussions” regarding a potential free trade agreement (FTA), even though formal negotiations have not yet started.

Hartman expressed hope that the progress made during the talks between Canada and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean), along with the Philippines' hosting of the 46th Asean Summit next year, would help accelerate FTA discussions.

“There will be some forthcoming significant opportunities at a political level,” Hartman said. “These are the types of agreements that I think there's a lot of political desire to be able to conclude quickly.”

“I would be quite surprised, frankly, if recent geopolitical developments don't potentially accelerate our ability to look at this area,” the Canadian envoy said.

READ: PH, Canada start talks for free trade pact

Asean mission

MacDonald, accompanied by stakeholders in the Canadian agriculture sector, is on a ministerial mission to three Asean countries—Indonesia, Singapore and the Philippines.

READ: Never a better time to partner with Canada

The Canadian official is meeting with government officials and industry leaders to tackle agricultural and agri-food trade, among others.

The Philippines was Canada’s 16th largest agri-food and seafood export market globally in 2024, based on the data provided by Canada.

Key Canadian agri-food and seafood exports to the Philippines include pork and pork products, wheat, edible meat offal, pulses and food preparations.

Canada’s agriculture and food imports from the Philippines last year totaled 250 million Canadian dollars, primarily coconut oil. /dda

(2025/08/07-20:16)

To read a full story, please click here to find out how to subscribe.