United States Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said Wednesday he hopes to provide "options" by the end of the year to U.S. President Donald Trump, Canada and Mexico on renewing the continental trade pact.
"I would love to have between now and the end the year at least some arrangements — one with Canada, one with Mexico," Greer told a Senate finance hearing.
"And then some of these issues that are really important — like rules of origin, I know labour environment's important to a lot of folks here — that take a little more time, to have further discussion of that, including with Congress, in the following year."
At the start of July, Greer said the United States would not renew the Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement on trade, better known as CUSMA.
That decision triggered annual rolling reviews that could continue for up to a decade, after which the agreement would expire unless all three countries agreed to an extension.
Mexico and Canada had said they wanted a 16-year extension.
Uncertainty about the future of the trade agreement has caused anxiety in business communities in all three countries even as negotiations continue.
Trump has called the agreement "irrelevant" and has said it may have served its purpose. But Greer told the Senate hearing that aspects of the agreement still work.
Greer didn't offer specifics on what would be in the interim deals he's looking to pitch to Canada and Mexico by the end of the year.
The United States and Mexico are months into official CUSMA negotiations. Ottawa and Washington have not started similar talks.
CUSMA was negotiated during the first Trump administration to replace the North American Free Trade Agreement. The sometimes volatile negotiations were a key test for Ottawa but ultimately an agreement was reached that was praised by all three countries.
The United States has started ramping up pressure on Canada in advance of trade talks. On Monday, Trump threatened to impose 50 per cent tariffs on an array of Canadian goods in 30 days.
The Trump administration said the measure is a response to provincial bans on U.S. liquor, Canada's supply-managed dairy system and quotas on certain U.S. vehicles.
Greer said he spoke with his Canadian counterpart Tuesday and "they did not say they are going to retaliate."
Gabriel Brunet, a spokesperson for Canada-U.S. Trade Minister Dominic LeBlanc, said in an email that LeBlanc and Greer spoke on Tuesday after Carney and Trump agreed to intensify trade discussions in the coming weeks.
"We look forward to further engagement on addressing outstanding issues with the U.S. to the mutual benefit of our citizens," said Brunet.
Democrats repeatedly questioned Greer on the move to hit Canada with higher duties.
Sen. Ron Wyden from Oregon said an analysis conducted by his office shows that if the tariffs take effect next month, Canada will face higher duties on certain items than China does. He asked why Canada is being singled out while China gets a "red carpet."
Greer said he would look into it but he suspects Canada's tariffs would be higher than China's on only a small number of items.
Democrat Sen. Peter Welch read out a list of small Vermont businesses that have been hammered by tariffs and cited the drop in Canadian tourism triggered by Trump's threats of annexation.
"The 51st state, the governor of Canada, that rhetoric has really inhibited Canadians from coming down," Welch said.
Welch asked Greer for assurance that there'd be a "respectful engagement" during CUSMA negotiations where "we are treating Canadians as the longtime friends in Vermont that they've been."
But Republican Sen. Marsha Blackburn praised the Trump administration for putting pressure on Canada over some provinces refusing to stock U.S. alcohol.
"Now that pressure has been applied, what will come next?" Blackburn said, requesting a written response from Greer's office.
"What do you anticipate to be the next step? How do we get the Canadians to put Jack Daniels back on their shelves rather than allowing them to continue talking this thing and not reaching a resolution?"
Picture Courtesy: AP Photo/Mariam Zuhaib
