The U.S. is shrugging off its role as leader of the free world, Canadian Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland said Tuesday, and forcing Canada and others to pick up the slack.
“We observe that Americans — and I am talking also about regular people, the people who vote — are starting to say, ‘You know what? Maybe that mantle of leadership is too heavy for us. Maybe we are not so ready to keep on doing it,'” Freeland said at a forum hosted by the Council on Foreign Relations in New York Tuesday.
Freeland contrasted that with the post-World War II period when the United States’ “greatest generation” took the leading role in guiding the world. That era has passed and “countries that believe in liberal democracy…need to get used to shouldering a bit more of the burden ourselves,” Freeland said.
Canadian Prime Justin Trudeau was seated next to Freeland at the forum, but didn’t offer any comments of his own.
The comments come as the U.S. and Canada have been negotiating for almost a month over allowing a U.S.-Mexico negotiated trade deal to become part of the North American Free Trade Agreement. The foreign minister met with her counterpart, U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer, in Washington last week, and is expected to continue discussions with him this week at the United Nations.
Canada has thus far refused to assent to the U.S.-Mexico deal, citing concerns over its impact on NAFTA’s dispute resolution mechanisms and possible impact on its domestic dairy industry. The Trump administration has said Canada’s assent is not necessary and formally submitted the deal to Congress, but nevertheless pursued an agreement with Canada to sooth lawmakers’ concerns over the deal’s impact on NAFTA.
The White House is under pressure to get the deal done by the end of the month, the last day it can be approved under Congress’ Trade Promotion Authority law before Mexico’s incoming president Andres Manuel Lopes Obrador, who did not negotiate the deal, takes office.
