United States President Donald Trump said in a news conference after meeting Prime Minister Mark Carney that the Canada-U.S.-Mexico (CUSMA) trade deal “is still very effective, but … people haven't followed it.”
The U.S. has persistently complained that Canada’s dairy industry has thwarted the allowance of imports included as part of CUSMA.
He called CUSMA a “transitional step” past the previous North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). “We're going to be starting to possibly renegotiate that if it's even necessary,” he said. “I don't know that it's necessary anymore, but it served a very good purpose … as we got rid of NAFTA.”
It’s up for review next year.
On Tuesday, Trump later called CUSMA “a good deal for everybody.” Carney firmly interjected: “It is a basis for a broader negotiation. Some things about it are gonna have to change, and part of the way that you’ve conducted these tariffs has taken advantage of existing aspects of CUSMA.”
