U.S. Ambassador to Canada Pete Hoekstra told business leaders from G7 countries there should be no question about whether his country is open for business.
Hoesktra made the comments during his first official address since arriving to his diplomatic post in Ottawa, during the Business 7 (B7) Summit on May 16 in the Canadian capital.
“Someone said, ‘Is America open for business?’ And it’s like, excuse me, have you not been watching?” Hoekstra said. “America is open for business, and as the B7, a group that leads the world, we anticipate and hope that you are all open for business as well.”
The B7 is an engagement group of the G7 comprising leaders from the business communities of the respective countries. It will issue economic recommendations to the G7 at the end of its summit, one month before the G7 leaders meeting in Kananaskis, Alberta.
Hoekstra’s comments came as the Trump administration has upended international trade with the imposition of various levels of tariffs on its commercial partners, including Canada. Canadian leaders at the federal and provincial levels have called to find other markets so as not to be dependent on the United States.
U.S. President Donald Trump has said he is using tariffs to rebalance trade, increase federal revenues, and shore up domestic manufacturing by attracting investments.
The strategy has had profound impacts on the world economy. The U.S. announcement of “reciprocal” tariffs on its trading partners in early April initially sent financial markets into a tailspin, but they’re currently on track to recover.
With these moves and others, the Trump administration has been moving at an “unbelievable” pace, Hoekstra said. He noted the success of securing the border with Mexico, doing business deals with Middle Eastern countries, and making progress on trade with China.
Later in the week, Trump completed a tour of Gulf countries, where deals worth hundreds of billions were announced.
Along with stressing that the United States is open for business, Hoekstra told the audience his country will invest “significantly” in its defence and he hopes others will do the same.
“If we are safe and if we are secure, that liberates you, that liberates the business community to prosper and bring prosperity to all of our owners,” he said in reference to citizens of countries.
The call for more defence spending came as NATO foreign ministers met this week in Turkey and discussed a proposal to raise the alliance’s defence spending guideline, currently set at 2 percent of GDP. Most alliance members meet the target, while Canada’s new government aims to reach it by 2030.
Another figure from U.S. politics spoke at the B7 Summit in Ottawa on May 16 and also said her country is open for business.
“Don’t assume that the U.S. doesn’t want to do business with your country,” said Nikki Haley, former rival to Trump for the Republican presidential nomination. “They actually do want to do business with your country. It’s just messy right now,” added Haley, who previously served as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations during Trump’s first term and is currently affiliated with the Hudson Institute think tank.
