Trending 
Canada and Mexico called for a 16-year renewal of their free trade agreement with the United States on Tuesday, hoping to bind all three countries to a pact that US President Donald Trump has openly questioned.
The United States-Canada-Mexico Agreement (USMCA) remains vital for both nations, as the US serves as their primary trading partner and receives 75 per cent of Canada’s exports and 80 per cent of Mexico’s exports.
Member countries face a July 1 deadline to declare whether they want to renew the pact or enter renegotiations.
Dominic LeBlanc, Ottawa’s minister in charge of Canada-US trade, formalised the request in a Monday letter to US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer and Mexico’s Economy Secretary Marcelo Ebrard.
LeBlanc then held what he termed a positive meeting in Washington on Tuesday, noting that discussions will continue in the coming days.
In Mexico City, Ebrard echoed Canada’s position at a press conference, supporting a full 16-year extension of the trade deal.
Although Trump signed the USMCA during his first term, he now dismisses the deal as irrelevant.
During his current term, he has imposed punishing tariffs on key Canadian sectors like automobiles and repeatedly mused about annexing Canada, recently posting “51st State!” in response to reports on Canada’s struggling economy.
While US officials have praised Mexico’s approach to trade talks, they have mocked Canada and insulted Prime Minister Mark Carney, a prominent critic of Trump.
Despite this bilateral friction, Greer indicated that he envisions preserving parts of the USMCA.
In his letter, LeBlanc highlighted that trilateral trade has grown 32 per cent since the USMCA took effect in 2020.
While he acknowledged that the US and Mexico might propose areas for improvement, LeBlanc stressed that Canada considers resolving Trump’s sector-specific tariffs essential to any future agreement.
