One of my recently published articles covered the World Economic Forum Davos speech by Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, where he summoned the middle powers of the earth to unite against the US forces who are demanding that they take a knee and capitulate, per Governor Newsom who was in attendance handing out knee pads. (Really) Well, to say the least, that’s not happening by even the longest stretch of anyone’s imagination. Nope, he made the speech about being at the table, or being on the menu, then hopped on a plane to Australia, Japan, and India, laying the groundwork for what has the potential of becoming an incredibly formidable force in the global trade landscape. At a minimum, Carney is putting on display a masterclass for the world of trade just how things related to open borders and cooperative supply chains could, and should, come together in order for all middle power economies to prosper. The timing on this ambitious coalition project couldn’t be better, as the overall global sentiment on trade alliances greatly favors a leader like Carney who has a cool, calm, and collected approach, as well as deep proven expertise. His rather impressive resume includes, but is certainly not limited to, a BA in Economics from Harvard University (1987), studied economics at Oxford, spent thirteen years at Goldman Sachs, was the Governor of the Bank of Canada (2008–2013), appointed at age 42 — one of the youngest ever, Governor of the Bank of England (2013–2020)  UN Special Envoy for Climate Action and Finance (2019–2025), architect of the Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero (GFANZ), and he pushed to align global capital markets with climate goals. There is a great deal more as far as his qualifications go for the middle-powers leadership role but let’s get to how he is currently putting his skills to work.

As the US continues to demand submission through aggression, Carney is taking the opposite approach, showing the world of global trade how treating each other as equals, and with respect will be to everyone’s benefit. He looks to unite those countries who are “rulesrestoring” democracies that share his diagnosis of a fractured global order, and a vision of the future united in their global leverage. Some are already calling it a Middle Powers Economic Partnership (MPEP). Why? Because it’s much more official sounding and most certainly deserving of its place among the world of economics acronyms.

Carney’s grand plan with this MPEP alliance is to create a “bridge” between the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) and the European Union, aiming to establish a massive, rules-based trading bloc of approximately 1.5 billion people with an economic impact of $30 trillion dollars. Canada is the only country who is a member of both groups, and a co-founder of the CPTPP, which is the foundation of a very opportunistic position to be shaping the alliance globally. The purpose of the coalition is intended to counter the impact of global tariffs, particularly those imposed by President Trump, and to diversify supply chains away from the United States. This new potential union of countries includes 20 who are very much aligned with Carney’s worldview and are already coordinating supply chains based on trade diversification. Canada of course is on the roster along with, Japan, South Korea, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Vietnam, Malaysia, Mexico, Chile, Peru, Colombia, United Kingdom, Germany, France, Netherlands, Sweden, Finland, Norway, and Denmark. Additional countries that wish to be protected from the volatility of U.S. tariffs and China’s dominance and are already part of IndoPacific or EU supplychain initiatives include India, Indonesia, Philippines, Thailand, Brunei, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Qatar, Israel, and Turkey. These states are hedging between great powers and would welcome a middlepower framework. Countries on the edge that are essential to EVs, batteries, semiconductors, or rare earths which is a core pillar of Carney’s strategy are Brazil, Argentina, South Africa, Morocco, Kazakhstan, Mongolia, Zambia, and Namibia. If this previously mentioned 38 country coalition comes together, Italy and Spain will most likely become the 39^th and 40^th countries to join. Spain may even jump in sooner as the Trump Administration was recently threatening to cut off trade with Spain entirely due to their refusal to allow a US military base there for strategic use in the war with Iran. However, this is an idle threat, and not anywhere close to being legally possible as Spain is a member of the EU, which acts just like NATO in this regard, being that what affects one, affects all, and the US would be beyond crazy to proceed into a head-to-head trade war with the EU. Well, what the hell, maybe beyond crazy is the new normal, so who knows.

At the somewhat recent World Economic forum in February in Davos, Carney argued that the global system built around American hegemony is broken and not evolving. He stated that the U.S. is now using tariffs as leverage, financial infrastructure as coercion, and supply chains as pressure points. Obviously, this message resonated strongly with leaders from Europe, Asia, and the Global South. It’s therefore the catalyst for a push for “strategic autonomy” among middle powers. Middle powers must stop assuming that the U.S. will protect them and therefore need to coordinate on energy security, critical minerals, food systems, supply chain resilience, and digital standards. It’s the kind of message and agenda in this day and age of global trade chaos that would naturally attract somewhere between 30–50 countries. The low hanging fruit in this endeavor of Carney’s is built on existing trade frameworks inclusive of some of the IndoPacific countries like Japan, South Korea, Australia, New Zealand, and the ASEAN economies. The CPTPP members are Canada, Japan, Australia, Singapore, Vietnam, Mexico, Peru, Chile, Malaysia, Brunei,, and the UK. Carney has been deepening ties with the EU, which is already exploring alternatives to U.S. trade alignment. It begs the question, who isn’t at this time within global trade?

Let’s take a look at a few of Carney’s most recent trade deals as testimony to his capabilities. For instance, he and Modi announced a reset of relations and a commitment to double bilateral trade to an estimated $70B by 2030. This is the political umbrella under which all the commercial deals sit.  The big one is a  10year uranium supply deal. (≈$1.9B USD / $2.6B CAD) Cameco (Canada) is selling to India’s Department of Atomic Energy 22 million pounds of uranium between 2027–2035. This will fuel India’s civilian nuclear reactors and support its cleanenergy transition.  As a commitment to a Canada–India Free Trade Agreement (CEPA) Carney and Modi publicly committed to restarting CEPA negotiations, which had been frozen for years. The signing of the agreement by December 2026 will reduce India’s very high tariffs on Canadian exports (autos, agrifood, etc.) This is the strategic focal point of the visit, a longterm trade architecture to reduce dependence on the U.S.  AI, semiconductors, and technology cooperation MOUs were signed, including HCL Technologies opening two new AI centers in Canada, expansion of Vancouver AI operations, and joint work on supercomputing and semiconductor ecosystems. This positions Canada as a talent and R&D partner for India’s tech expansion. Carney and Modi concluded eight agreements across agriculture, energy, space cooperation, talent mobility and university partnerships. (13 new partnerships) Granted, these are mostly framework agreements but signal a broad normalization of ties. Regarding biotech & pharma manufacturing, OCT Therapies & Research will manufacture medicines in New Brunswick for export, including to India. Carney is using India as a cornerstone in his broader “middlepower coalition” strategy. The India package is the first major bilateral deal aligned with the strategy as the foundation.

Down under, a new Canada–Australia critical minerals partnership has been signed. This is a bilateral agreement with Canada to “join forces on everything to do with critical minerals and is the closest thing to a concrete deal so far. Its purpose is to build secure nonChina supply chains for minerals used in EV batteries, semiconductors, and defense systems. Both countries are major producers and want to counter China’s dominance in the sector. Carney and Albanese are also deepening cooperation in maritime security, defense interoperability, intelligence collaboration (building on Five Eyes), joint exercises and strategic coordination. This is framed as part of a broader “middlepower alignment” in response to global instability. Carney’s office confirmed that the Australia trip includes agreements or frameworks to expand cooperation in artificial intelligence, advanced technologies, and dualuse tech relevant to defense and critical infrastructure. Carney is also meeting with Australian business leaders and investors to attract capital into Canada.  Worth noting, Carney delivered a formal “middle powers” speech to both houses of the Australian Parliament and is only the second Canadian PM to do so in 20 years.

During this same ambitious trip Carney also recently signed a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership with Japan. Carney and Japanese PM Sanae Takaichi signed a new bilateral framework that modernizes the Canada–Japan relationship, deepens cooperation across defense, energy, critical minerals, trade, and technology, and establishes a longterm strategic direction for both countries. This is the umbrella agreement under which all other initiatives sit. Japan relies heavily on imported energy and minerals, and Canada is a major producer. The partnership includes commitments to expand LNG trade, strengthen supply chains for critical minerals, and support Japanese industrial needs with Canadian resources. This is one of the most economically significant components. Regarding defense, maritime security & joint operations the agreement expands into joint coast guard exercises, cooperation on illegal fishing enforcement, cybersecurity policy dialogue, potential Japanese participation in Operation NANOOK in the Arctic, and more joint naval operations in the Pacific. This is the deepest Canada–Japan defense alignment in decades. Carney and Takaichi (The new Iron Lady of the East) also agreed to launch a new cyber policy dialogue and expand cooperation in advanced technology.

The next three countries Carney should visit are: South Korea, Indonesia, and Germany. Middle Powers of the earth unite! Take note middle powers, the Section 122 tariffs that President Trump just slapped on global economies, (because IEEPA tariffs were deemed illegal by the Supreme Court), can only stay in place for 150 days maximum and can’t be reinstated. When the beast is weakened, that’s the opportune time to strike.

Also. worth a mention, prior to Carney’s jaunt to India, Australia and Japan, he had a fairly recent visit to China and the EU, which reaped great rewards as well. Here are some of the highlights of those visits. In the meeting with China Canada dropped its 100% tariff on Chinese electric vehicles, which was originally imposed in 2024. Canada will now allow up to 49,000 Chinese EVs per year at a 6.1% tariff.

China’s concessions included cutting tariffs on Canadian canola seed to 15% by March 2026. China also removed “antidiscrimination” tariffs on canola meal, lobster, crabs, and peas. (Effective March through at least end of 2026.) Ottawa estimates the package unlocks nearly US$3B in Canadian exports. This was more of a strategic partnership rather than a FreeTrade Agreement. Carney explicitly ruled out a full FTA with China because it would violate North American tradedeal notification rules and provoke U.S. retaliation in a second. He reiterated, for those who are paying attention that Canada is “not in freetrade talks with Beijing.” He also emphasized the package is a “preliminary but landmark” strategic partnership, not a comprehensive FTA. This framing is deliberate as it gives Canada market access without triggering CUSMA termination clauses. Of course, at the time of this writing, pre-negotiation, or as some call it a “review”, of the USMCA, or CUSMA (Canadian acronym) the FTA has a good chance of seeing the US make a formal exit or at least flip the monopoly board and storm out of the room.

Across the pond, in early March of this year, 2026, Carney and the EU agreed to enhance and expand the existing Canada–EU freetrade agreement (CETA), adding new marketaccess rules, mobility provisions, and a digitaltrade agenda. This is not a brandnew FTA — it is a CETA upgrade package designed to deepen integration and of course reduce Canada’s dependence on the U.S. The EU and Canada agreed to modernize CETA’s rules of origin to make it easier for Canadian goods to qualify for EU tarifffree access removing 98–99% of tariffs on goods traded between Canada and the EU. They also agreed to expand services market access, particularly in clean tech, engineering, financial services and digital services. Carney’s doctrine is clear: Reduce dependence on the U.S. by building a middlepowers coalition anchored in Europe and the IndoPacific. Carney is pushing a tricontinental alignment via EU (CETA upgrade + digital trade), IndoPacific (Japan, Australia, India deals), CPTPP (rulesoforigin cumulation initiative) The EU deal is the European pillar of that architecture.

If you have a few spare moments, here is my previous article on Carney’s speech in Davos, and the original middle-powers playbook introduction. https://www.braumillerlaw.com/hot-topics-in-international-trade-the-davos-speech-by-canadian-prime-minister-mark-carney-the-middle-powers-playbook-and-a-global-trade-realignment-in-the-making/