VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – American consumers may be the ones who pay for a souring relationship between the United States and Mexico, and Canada should support the Mexican state, according to an SFU political professor.

Tensions between the US and Mexico were strained even further Thursday after a meeting set for next week between the two presidents was canceled. US president Donald Trump signed an executive order to begin work on his promised border wall between the two countries and announced his plan to get Mexico to pay for it is to impose a 20 per cent tariff on imported Mexican goods. Mexico’s president has adamantly refused to put up a single cent.

“If anything bad were to happen, it would be worse if Canada does not side with Mexico because Canada would become an accomplice with a bully that could eventually turn back against it,” international relations professor Gerardo Otero says.

If the US imposes tariffs on Mexican imports, American consumers should be ready to pay more as producers pass on the costs, Otero says.

However, he says because global markets are so intertwined, it’s impossible for Canada, or at least some Canadian companies, to come out completely unscathed.

“Magna, (the largest auto parts manufacturer in North American), they have factories in Mexico, and so does Bombardier,” he said. “So whatever the US does against Mexico will also affect Canada.”

Canada and Mexico are each other’s third largest trading partner, with $37.8 billion worth of goods going between the countries in 2015. Canada’s trade relationship is unlikely to take a major hit, according to Otero.

Otero joined Amanda Warwyk and Jim Bennie on the air to discuss the relations between the two countries and what Canada should be doing in the future.