Latin America and the Caribbean, long overlooked in Canadian policy, could become part of a broader shift as Canada adapts its international engagement to new economic and geopolitical pressures.
President Trump, known as a master dealmaker, is making a bold bet on the negotiating advantage he finds in chaos, having already used similar tariff declarations to extract concessions from the United States’ closest trading partners, including Canada and Mexico.
Unless the administration delivers concrete economic benefits to willing partners and admirers like Argentina and El Salvador, U.S. influence in the region will remain fragile, likely ceding increasing space to China.
