Canada has formally requested a renewal of the North American free trade agreement with the United States and Mexico, known as the USMCA, as the July deadline to renegotiate the pact approaches.
Trade minister Dominic LeBlanc, who is in Washington for talks with U.S. trade representative Jamieson Greer, submitted notice of renewal asking the deal be extended for another 16 years. He called the agreement highly beneficial for all three countries.
Negotiations with Canada, however, have lagged behind those with Mexico. Disagreements focus on sector‑specific tariffs, especially on Canadian steel, aluminium, automobiles and lumber, and on ensuring at least 50 % U.S. content in North‑American‑made cars.
Prime Minister Mark Carney publicly demanded removal or reduction of those tariffs, while Greer warned that Canada may need to accept some U.S. duties to secure a deal. The U.S. also wants greater access to Canadian markets, notably for dairy, where Canada regulates production quotas and imports to support local farmers.
Last week, Greer said he would discuss raising the U.S. content threshold in vehicles and coordinating external tariffs on third‑country cars. Carney noted that Canadian cars already meet that threshold.
Domestic pressure on Carney is mounting. Conservative MPs criticize the Prime Minister’s handling of the trade talks, citing Canada’s stagnant growth and high youth unemployment. Meanwhile, Greer attributes the slower pace of negotiations to Canada’s retaliatory tariffs against the U.S., diverging from Mexico’s approach.
If a 16‑year extension is not reached before July 1, the agreement could fall back to annual renewals until 2036, potentially destabilizing trade flows across the continent.
