U.S President Donald Trump suggested Wednesday that the U.S. is “better without” the Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA) and he even prefers it to be “terminated.”
Trump spoke to reporters at the G7 in France before boarding a flight after attending the G7 summit.
His comments come as Canada, the U.S. and Mexico continue to negotiate an extension or replacement for the current free trade agreement.
“I would rather not have the agreement, but I may sign it, but we [the U.S.] do better as a country when we don’t have an agreement,” said Trump.
On July 1, a mandated review process kicks off that will see the three countries either agree to renew CUSMA for another 16 years or enter a 10-year period of annual reviews.
In the latter scenario, the trade deal would stay in place while negotiations continue, though any country could choose to withdraw altogether by giving six months notice.
Canada and Mexico have both called for a 16-year extension, but Trump on Wednesday said he would rather see the agreement “terminated.”
“It’s not sticking around — it’ll be terminated, in other words, it expires. I prefer that,” he said.
Trump, who negotiated CUSMA during his first term, added that he only did so because the older North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) did not have a way for the U.S. to withdraw without congressional approval.
When pushed further on whether he intends to pull the U.S. out of CUSMA or leave it to be reviewed annually, Trump said he would prefer no agreement but he’s open to keeping it, adding, “I view it as possibly expiring immediately.”
Trump’s CUSMA comments and why he doesn’t want to renew the trade deal
Trump’s comments came after Canadian officials this week expressed confidence that CUSMA will remain in place, and as trade talks continue between all three countries leading up to the July 1 deadline.
Canada’s ambassador to the United States Mark Wiseman told a business crowd in Toronto on Monday that “it’s all going to be OK” and urged those worried about CUSMA’s expiry to “take a deep breath” and “relax.”
However, he noted that efforts to lower or remove sectoral tariffs on steel, aluminum, autos and other industries were the current focus of trade talks rather than CUSMA.
Official CUSMA negotiations between Canada and the U.S. have yet to begin, while those between the U.S. and Mexico are already underway.
United States Trade Representative Jamieson Greer has said there are “pillars” of the continental trade pact that work well, while other issues like rules of origin need to be renegotiated. He also has said he’d be open to two separate bilateral agreements.
Canada-U.S. Trade Minister Dominic LeBlanc met with Greer on the sidelines of the G7 summit on Tuesday and said trade talks with his American counterpart are not a “one-way conversation.”
“We talked about a number of other issues that the United States raises with us,” LeBlanc told reporters. “But we also talked about issues that are important to Canadian workers and the Canadian economy.”
LeBlanc did not give details about Tuesday’s talks with Greer but said they “took stock ” of the work done since the Washington meeting and agreed to get in contact again soon.
“We made progress in resolving with Jamieson a number of issues that the United States Trade Representative has raised over a number months with Canada,” LeBlanc said.
Prime Minister Mark Carney said earlier Wednesday that he had multiple conversations with Trump on the sidelines of the summit this week, despite the lack of a formal bilateral meeting.
Trade was among the “wide range of subjects” they discussed, Carney told reporters, without sharing further details.
—with files from the Canadian Press
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