Canada, U.S., Mexico to meet July 1 for first time on CUSMA
Officials from Canada, the U.S. and Mexico will meet virtually on July 1 to discuss CUSMA’s next steps. This first trilateral meeting comes after U.S. President Donald Trump’s statement on Wednesday that he would prefer if the North American trade deal, which he negotiated during his first term, expires.
“I’m thinking about maybe we won’t be able to make a deal. I would rather not have (CUSMA),” Trump told reporters in France after the G7 summit there. But he hedged his comment, adding: “I would rather not have the agreement, but I may sign it.”
Asked about Trump’s remarks, Prime Minister Mark Carney said, “It's no secret the president in recent years has not been the biggest fan of CUSMA or other trade deals.” But “we continue to work through a number of issues which are all related” in current bilateral talks, the prime minister said.
Carney also referred to recent comments by U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer that CUSMA forms a valuable foundation supporting continental commerce.
“The underlying structure of CUSMA has been preserved,” Carney told media. “It continues to operate for 85% of our exports. Without any action, it will remain in place for the next decade. There's an opportunity to extend it.”
After the G7 summit, Canada-U.S. Trade Minister Dominic LeBlanc didn’t give any details of his and Chief Trade Negotiator Janice Charette’s discussion with Greer. But LeBlanc suggested things are moving along well in the closed-door meetings in Washington.
The two sides are making “progress in resolving with Jamieson a number of issues that the United States Trade Representative has raised over a number of months with Canada,” LeBlanc told reporters.
The Toronto Star outlined some of the issues the U.S. wants to address:
Energy, because U.S. energy imports from Canada result in a U.S. trade deficit
Access to the dairy market
Greater tariff alignment with the U.S. against countries it believes have unfair trade practices, like China
Buy Canada procurement rules
Changes to how electrical power sales are throttled between Alberta and Montana
Imports made by forced labour
The Online Streaming Act
A more integrated critical minerals market
More harmonized customs regulations at the border
Tighter rules of origin for non-automotive industries
