Canada sends letter to U.S., Mexico calling for renewal of trade agreement

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While official CUSMA trade talks between Ottawa and Washington have yet to begin, the United States and Mexico have started their negotiations.

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Prime Minister Mark Carney told reporters in Ottawa that the United States has separate issues with Canada and Mexico.

“There’s a series of issues, technical issues, that they have with Mexico, they have with us, which is why there’s a bifurcated discussion,” he said.

He said the U.S. has a list of about 30 issues with Canada of “varying technicality.”

Ottawa is also looking at “a possibility of a new partnership” to lessen the impacts of U.S. President Donald Trump’s separate tariffs that are slamming Canada’s steel, aluminum, automobile and forestry industries, Carney said.

The continental trade pact has helped to shield Canada and Mexico from the worst impacts of Trump’s tariffs. The current 10 per cent U.S. global duty does not apply to goods compliant with CUSMA.

CUSMA was negotiated during the first Trump administration to replace the North American Free Trade Agreement. But Trump has since criticized the trade agreement by calling it irrelevant and saying it may have served its purpose.

Greer also has said he’d be open to two separate bilateral agreements but has noted that aspects of CUSMA work very well.

The CUSMA review sets up a three-way choice for each country to make. They can renew the deal for another 16 years, withdraw from it or signal both non-renewal and non-withdrawal — which would trigger an annual review that could keep negotiations going for up to a decade.

LeBlanc’s letter pushed for the 16-year renewal.

“Canada looks forward to continued engagement with both the United States and Mexico on opportunities to expand our trading partnership and is willing to consider any proposal that can be beneficial to all three nations’ long-term prosperity,” he said in the letter.

“In parallel, discussion with the United States on addressing sectoral tariffs will be essential.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 2, 2026.

Kelly Geraldine Malone, The Canadian Press