BRUSSELS: Canada wants to deepen its economic ties with the European Union (EU) and uphold global trading rules in the face of threatened US tariffs, says Trade Minister Mary Ng.

Canada is also pushing to diversify its exports and set itself a target in 2018 of increasing non-U.S. exports by 50% by 2025.

Quebec premier Francois Legault responded on social media to say the US-Mexico-Canada trade deal negotiations need to start as soon as possible to end the uncertainty, and Ian de Verteuil, a strategist at CIBC Capital Markets, agreed.