U.S. President Donald Trump has renewed his threat to walk away from the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement, raising fresh uncertainty over one of North America’s most important trade deals as formal review talks move ahead.
Speaking in the Oval Office on Wednesday, Trump said he is “not looking to renew” CUSMA when the pact reaches its scheduled review on July 1, six years after it took effect. The agreement, known as USMCA in the United States and T-MEC in Mexico, replaced NAFTA in 2020 and governs major sectors including autos, agriculture, energy, digital trade, labour standards and dispute resolution.
“I’m not looking to renew it. I made the deal, and the primary reason I made the deal is that NAFTA was the worst trade deal I have ever seen, and I made it better, but I had the right to terminate,” Trump said on Wednesday. “NAFTA was a disaster for our country. The worst trade deal ever made.”
Trump on CUSMA: I’m not looking to renew it … We don’t need anything that Canada has. We don’t need anything that Mexico has, but they need everything that we have.pic.twitter.com/62R4H8VeZ0
CUSMA does not expire until 2036, but the agreement includes a six-year review clause. Each country has the option to extend the pact for another 16 years or move into annual reviews. Any member country also has the right to withdraw by giving six months’ notice.
Trump, who signed the agreement during his first term, said the termination provision was central to why he supported the deal.
“USMCA did one thing that I loved. After six years, it comes up for renewal. I don’t know that I’m going to renew it,” he said Wednesday.
“It was a great deal for one reason. It gave the right to terminate,” he added. “It was very important that we be able to do that. So we’re talking to them. We’ll see if we do something.”
Canada and Mexico have formally stated they want CUSMA extended, while also signalling openness to improvements. Trump’s top trade official, Jamieson Greer, has not publicly outlined the U.S. position.
The United States has already opened formal renewal talks with Mexico, with two more rounds scheduled next week and in late July. Canada-U.S. Trade Minister Dominic LeBlanc and Canada’s chief negotiator Janice Charette met Greer and his team in Washington last week in a separate round of discussions.
LeBlanc did not disclose details of the meeting, but said Canada brought forward proposals aimed at addressing “long-standing issues that the United States has raised with us.”
CUSMA carries major importance for Canada’s economy. The agreement covers about $1.3 trillion in cross-border trade with the United States and protects roughly 90 per cent of Canadian exports from Trump’s tariffs.
Canada and the United States also exchange more than $3 billion in goods and services daily, making the deal central to supply chains across autos, agriculture, energy, manufacturing and consumer goods.
Trump repeated his long-standing argument that the United States does not rely on its two neighbours.
“The United States does much better. We don’t need anything that Canada has, we don’t need anything that Mexico has, but they need everything that we have,” Trump added.
“They have to treat us better. With Mexico and Canada, we have trade deficits. We should have surpluses with them. We don’t need their cars, we don’t need their lumber, we don’t need their energy; we don’t need anything.”
When Trump signed the agreement in 2018, he described it as “the most modern, up-to-date, and balanced trade agreement in the history of our country.”
