CALGARY — The United States has opted not to renew the Canada-US-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA), with the trade deal now entering an annual review process.Representatives from all three countries met virtually on Wednesday to discuss the future of the agreement, with Canada-US Trade Minister Dominic LeBlanc and Canada’s chief negotiator, Janice Charette, representing Canada in the meeting.“The United States did not agree to renew (CUSMA) in its current form,” US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said in a statement..“As a result, (CUSMA) is not renewed. The United States will continue to engage with Mexico and Canada to address the agreement’s shortcomings and our trade deficits with these countries. However, the agreement remains in force pending resolution of these issues or until the agreement’s termination.”Canada Day was the deadline for each country to declare whether it wanted to extend CUSMA until 2042 or renegotiate its terms.The announcement does not kill the deal — which does not expire until 2036 — but now an annual review process kicks in for the next ten years.All three countries involved are able to pull out of the deal entirely with six months’ notice.Prime Minister Mark Carney had previously said he didn’t expect any resolution on Wednesday but was “expecting a constructive exchange.”“I wouldn’t expect any drama tomorrow,” he told reporters on Tuesday.“I’m not looking for my pen.”.LeBlanc said in a statement after the meeting that both Canadian and Mexican officials who participated in the meeting wanted to renew the trade deal.“We agreed on the importance of continuing our discussions and identifying ways to ensure trade and investment frameworks between Canada, the United States and Mexico continue to support North American prosperity and competitiveness,” LeBlanc said.“For Canada, this includes substantive discussions with the United States on addressing sectoral tariffs on Canadian steel, aluminum, autos and lumber. We look forward to further engagement with the United States and Mexico in the coming weeks and months as we work together to strengthen our shared economic prosperity.”Meanwhile, President Donald Trump had repeatedly railed against the agreement — despite signing it in his first term in office — and threatened not to re-sign it in recent weeks, saying the US was better off without the deal as the trade war between Canada and the US has continued for almost 18 months, with Trump having imposed tariffs on Canadian imports starting last February.The US is now expected to meet the week of July 20 with Mexico to continue a series of bilateral negotiations on their trade agreement.However, there is still no word on if the US and Canada have begun their own talks.
