4 days ago

Canada has formally requested a renewal of the North American free trade agreement with the US and Mexico, called the USMCA, as the July deadline to renegotiate the pact looms.

In Tuesday's notice, Canada-US trade minister Dominic LeBlanc requested the deal be renewed for another 16 years, calling the agreement "highly beneficial" to all three countries.

It comes as LeBlanc is in Washington to meet US trade representative Jamieson Greer.

Greer concluded the latest round of formal bilateral talks with Mexico this week, but the on-again-off-again negotiations with Canada have lagged behind.

In the notice letter, LeBlanc argued that the USMCA - known as CUSMA in Canada - gives North American countries a competitive global advantage.

He added that Canada recognises there are areas the pact can be improved, adding that the country is "willing to consider any proposal that can be beneficial to all three nations' long-term prosperity".

He also said that: "In parallel, discussions with the United States on addressing sectoral tariffs will be essential."

Prime Minister Mark Carney has said that he wants sector-specific tariffs imposed on Canadian steel, aluminium, automobiles and lumber by the Trump administration removed or lowered, while Greer has indicated that Canada may have to accept some form of US levies.

Separately, Mexico also announced its call for a renewal of the multilateral trade pact.

"Mexico's ​intention and position is that the treaty should be extended," Economy Minister ​Marcelo Ebrard said according to the Reuters news agency. "Keep in mind ​that the treaty will remain in ‌effect ⁠for many more years, but we would like it to be extended ​to 16 ​years."

The US, meanwhile, has cited multiple trade irritants with Canada, including the decision by most provinces to remove American alcohol from shelves due to tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump.

It also wants greater access to Canadian markets for American businesses, specifically dairy, where Canada has strict control over production quotas and imports to support local farmers.

Last week, Greer said that he will also be discussing increasing the percentage of US content in North American-made cars, as well as co-ordinating external tariffs on other countries with Canada and Mexico.

In its talks with Mexico, the US has asked that vehicles made in North America contain at least 50% American-made content, according to Reuters.

Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, Carney said that cars made in Canada already contain around that amount of US content, on average.

In a speech in New York last week, he said a stronger Canadian economy would support growth in US.

"Canada Strong will help make America great again," he said.

Domestic pressure has been building on the prime minister to reach a deal with the US, with the Conservative opposition MPs citing Canada's lagging economic growth and high youth unemployment rate.

"What is the plan?" asked Jasraj Singh Hallan, a Conservative MP at a news conference on Tuesday morning, calling Carney a "grand illusionist" who has failed to deliver on his promise of growing Canada's economy.

Greer has blamed the slower pace of Canada-US negotiations on Canada's decision to retaliate against the US for its tariffs, compared to Mexico.

"Two countries in the world retaliated against us: The People's Republic of China and Canada," he told reporters last week. "So they're just in a different spot, and it's hard to see necessarily where that ends."

President Trump has not commented recently on US-Canada trade talks. But on Monday, he revived his "51st state" rhetoric against Canada in a Truth Social post, where he shared link to a news article about its lagging economy.

Carney acknowledged to reporters on Tuesday that the economy is experiencing "some weakness".

Asked if the country is in a recession, the prime minister said his government is working on building "a stronger, more resilient, and more independent Canadian economy".

If Canada, the US and Mexico do not agree to extend the USMCA by 1 July, the pact would have to be renewed annually, until 2036.