Asked Wednesday about the upcoming review of the Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement, the free trade deal between the three countries, U.S. President Donald Trump said, “I’m not looking to renew it.”
“We don’t need anything” that Canada or Mexico has, said the president.
By July 1, all three countries must say whether they would like to renew the agreement for 16 years, or commit to annual reviews, per the schedule baked into the deal.
On-and-off informal negotiations between the U.S. and Canada have been going on for months, and the latter has already indicated it’s interested in renewing the trade pact. The U.S. and Mexico, meanwhile, have said they’re making progress on their formal bilateral talks.
CUSMA, or USMCA as it’s known in the U.S., has shielded Canadian goods from a large portion of U.S. import tariffs.
Leaders on both sides of the border have called it the best trade deal with the U.S. in the world. Trump sang its praises on Wednesday, but for one reason specifically.
“It gave the right to terminate,” he said.
Canada has exported US$127-billion worth of goods to the U.S. so far this year, according to the American census bureau. Canada imported US$114 billion-worth of American goods, meaning the U.S. has accrued a US$12 billion trade deficit so far in 2026.
The trade deficit, a measure of the difference between imports and exports, has irritated Trump, who has repeatedly cited it as a problem with Canada-U.S. trade.
“We should have surpluses with them,” he said, referring to both Canada and Mexico.
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