Trump ‘not looking to renew’ CUSMA trade pact, says no need for Canadian imports

Canada-U.S. Trade Minister Dominic LeBlanc and Mexico’s secretary of economy, Marcelo Ebrard, sent letters to the U.S. administration last week calling for a 16-year extension of the agreement. The Trump administration did not make its intentions public at the time.

Trump’s Wednesday comments support speculation that the United States will choose the non-renewal and non-withdrawal option, which triggers the annual review.

Members of the Trump administration have long been signalling that the United States is looking at lengthy negotiations with its closest neighbours. The president could also give six months’ notice that the United States is pulling out of the agreement — but public comments from Trump’s trade team suggest that scenario is less likely to happen immediately.

William Pellerin, a partner in international trade at McMillan LLP, said while it was always a matter of time before the White House escalated its CUSMA threats, “North American businesses must still take this seriously.”

The fact that the Trump administration didn’t immediately rubber-stamp an extension is not a great source of concern, Pellerin said, but the president’s comments about terminating the trade pact altogether are worrisome.

“President Trump’s comments can be viewed as a strong signal that the United States is playing hardball on any deal to reduce or drop the unilateral tariffs it still maintains on Canada and Mexico in clear contravention of the CUSMA,” he said in an email.

CUSMA was negotiated during the first Trump administration to replace the North American Free Trade Agreement. The president has since called it “irrelevant.”

The trade agreement shielded Canada and Mexico from many of Trump’s tariffs. The current 10 per cent global tariff does not apply to goods that are compliant under CUSMA.

Canada and Mexico are still being slammed by Trump’s separate tariffs on sectors like steel, aluminum and automobiles.

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

Trade negotiations between Washington and Ottawa were frozen last October after Trump was angered by an Ontario-funded ad quoting former U.S. president Ronald Reagan criticizing tariffs.

The relationship has started to thaw in recent months and LeBlanc and Canada’s chief trade negotiator Janice Charette met with United States Trade Representative Jamieson Greer in Washington last week.

Prime Minister Mark Carney has said Washington has “technical issues” with Mexico and 30 trade issues with Canada of “varying technicality.”

The original CUSMA negotiations were a key test for Ottawa. Robert Lighthizer, Trump’s trade representative at the time, recounted in his book how at one point during the process the two countries weren’t speaking and “NAFTA was hanging on by a thread.”

Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe said Wednesday in Calgary that “there is going to be a lot of rhetoric that will occur as we go through this review process.” Ontario Premier Doug Ford echoed that statement in Toronto at an event with Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro.

“We’ve heard these comments from President Trump in the past,” Ford said. “We need to stay focused. We need to continue moving the ball down the field.”

On Capitol Hill, the House Committee on Agriculture heard from industry groups about what they want from the trade agreement. While some criticized access to the Canadian dairy market, the groups pushed for a quick resolution of negotiations and de-escalation of trade tensions.

While Canada dropped its retaliatory tariffs on the U.S., Canadians are still avoiding many American products, Dave Puglia, president and CEO of Western Growers, told the hearing.

Neil Herrington of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce told lawmakers the relationship with Canada has been strained by Trump’s repeated threats of annexation.

“This is something that we are very focused on in trying to get this review completed and the negotiations completed because brand U.S.A. (has been affected),” he said.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 10, 2026.

— With files from Dylan Robertson in Ottawa, Allison Jones in Toronto and Lauren Krugel in Calgary.

Kelly Geraldine Malone, The Canadian Press

by The Canadian Press

Trump ‘not looking to renew’ CUSMA trade pact, says no need for Canadian imports

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