The United States is officially starting the process of reviewing the Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement as President Donald Trump continues to shake up continental trade with his tariff agenda.
The U.S. Trade Representative is set to begin 45 days of public consultations ahead of the mandated review of the trade agreement, better known as CUSMA, next year.
A preliminary Federal Register notice posted online Tuesday, set for publication Wednesday, said there also will be a public hearing in November.
It marks the first official step toward renegotiating the sweeping trade deal that was signed during the first Trump administration. Trump has praised the deal but also has described it as "transitional" and has questioned whether it's still necessary.
The continental deal has shielded Canada and Mexico from the worst of Trump's efforts to realign trade through massive duties on nations around the world.
While Canada and Mexico were early targets of Trump's tariffs, those duties do not apply to goods compliant under the trade pact.
There's been a surge in the number of businesses looking to ensure their CUSMA compliance. Prime Minister Mark Carney has said the deal puts Canada in an enviable spot compared to other nations — even nations like the United Kingdom and South Korea which have signed bilateral agreements with the Trump administration.
Canada and Mexico are being hammered by Trump's separate tariffs on steel, aluminum, copper and automobiles. Canadian officials have said their priority is to find an off-ramp for these sectors through a bilateral economic and security agreement ahead of the CUSMA review.
The consultations and review are required under American law but businesses have been waiting for the process to officially begin.
David Paterson, Ontario's trade representative in Washington, said he's been in talks with many American sectors and businesses that rely on CUSMA and have been anticipating an opportunity to make their case for the trade pact.
He said he doesn't expect the federal government or provinces to submit comment, as the consultations are meant to allow American businesses to make their case.
Paterson had meetings with officials at the White House this week and said there's ongoing interest around critical minerals, aviation, defence, automobiles and others sectors that rely on trade with Canada.
"I'm very glad that these things are moving ahead right now because the thing that we all need is predictability and certainty for investment," he said.
"Because probably the biggest concern is that it's very hard for people to make investment decisions in any sectors when there's the uncertainty of tariffs and there's uncertainty around these issues."
Richard Madan, Manitoba's representative to the United States, said that now the timeline is more clear, "the goal for Manitoba is to encourage U.S. partners that benefit from Manitoba's supply chains and market access through (CUSMA) to share success stories, economic data, or examples of seamless collaboration that (CUSMA) provides that strengthens both economies."
While a lot of the national focus has been on Trump's sectoral tariffs on steel, aluminum and cars, Madan said Canada — and Manitoba — provide a lot of food that Americans consume, from pork and beef to various seeds.
Agri-food trade has been largely seamless under CUSMA, Madan said, and it's critical that integration remains uninterrupted. Manitoba exported $4.29 billion in agri-foods to the U.S. in 2024 and imported $1.9 billion, he said.
Carney is set to travel to Mexico this week to meet with President Claudia Sheinbaum ahead of the trade pact's review.
The two leaders met during the G7 Summit in Kananaskis earlier this year, and Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand and Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne travelled to Mexico in August.
"Canada and Mexico have a strong relationship, built on more than three decades of free trade," Carney said in a news release Tuesday. "In the face of a shifting global landscape, we are focused on elevating our partnerships in trade, commerce, security, and energy."
The negotiation of CUSMA, commonly dubbed "the new NAFTA," was a key test for Ottawa following Trump's first election victory.
Former U.S. trade representative Robert Lighthizer recounted the difficult and sometimes contentious negotiations in his book. He said "the Trump administration was willing to ruffle diplomatic feathers to advance its trade agenda."
The first Trump administration required the six-year review be included in the deal.
The Trump administration has indicated it doesn't expect the process to be easy, and the president has suggested he is looking for a renegotiation rather than a review of some trade irritants.
Carney has also said Canada is looking to change some aspects of the continental trade pact. The prime minister has pointed to the national security exemptions in trade law that allowed Trump to slam Canada with sectoral tariffs — linked to baseless claims about fentanyl trafficking over the Canadian border into the U.S.
U.S. government data shows only a minuscule amount of fentanyl is seized at the border with Canada.
Picture Courtesy: AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein
