President Donald Trump has vowed to renegotiate the USMCA free trade agreement with Canada and Mexico if he wins the November presidential election.
“I am announcing today that upon taking office, I will formally notify Mexico and Canada of my intention to invoke the six-year renegotiation clause of the USMCA,” President Trump said Thursday at the Detroit Economic Club. he said.
After tense negotiations, the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement went into effect in 2020, replacing the previous North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), which President Trump had targeted shortly after taking office. The new USMCA agreement is being reviewed in time for its sixth anniversary in 2026, when the three countries will need to confirm in writing whether to extend or reevaluate the agreement.
“That was the hardest thing to get. They didn’t want it,” Trump said of the independent review provision. “I said, ‘No, I want to be able to renegotiate it in six years, otherwise there’s no deal.'” Okay, the deadline is almost here, and we’re going to have a lot of fun. ”
Speaking in the Motor City on Thursday, President Trump said he wants to do more to protect and promote the U.S. auto industry, which has long been centered in Detroit.
“I also want strong new protections against transshipment to prevent China and other countries from smuggling their products and auto parts into the United States duty-free through Mexico and harming American workers and supply chains. “We’re going to ask for it,” the Republican presidential candidate said. With a wide range of speeches. “They smuggle these things. They don’t pay anything. We’re going to have very strong words about it.”
Negotiations to replace NAFTA began in 2017, and relations between Canada and the United States reached a new low after President Trump insulted Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and imposed hefty tariffs on Canadian aluminum and steel.
“I ended NAFTA, which is a pretty big deal,” President Trump said Thursday. “A lot of people said it wasn’t possible. I did it and we’re in a big deal now. All we have to do is make it better. , and it will be done soon.”
The new agreement included expanded U.S. access to Canadian supply management sectors such as dairy products, allowing cheaper online cross-border shipping, and requiring higher levels of North American ingredients in vehicles.
“Every time he talks about breaking free trade agreements, it definitely affects Canada more than it does the United States,” former B.C. Premier Christy Clark said Thursday on CTV News Power Play. “We depend on them more than they depend on us. But that being said, they depend on us more than anyone else in their trade.”
Harris will also reopen USMCA
While in the U.S. Senate, Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris was one of only 10 U.S. senators to vote against the new USMCA agreement, which passed with overwhelming bipartisan support in January 2020. There was only one person. Harris joined Sens. Bernie Sanders and Chuck Schumer in arguing that the deal doesn’t do enough to address environmental issues.
“We have concluded that the USMCA’s environmental provisions are insufficient. By not addressing climate change, the USMCA is failing to respond to the current crisis,” Harris said at the time.
In recent series, Post by XHarris confirmed that as president she would reinstate the USMCA agreement.
“As one of only 10 senators to vote against USMCA, I knew it would not do enough to protect our country and its workers,” Harris said in September. I wrote it. “Many of those who voted for this deal made the review process a condition of support, and as president I intend to take advantage of that.”
Harris has also previously expressed opposition to the original NAFTA agreement, which US President Joe Biden voted for as a senator in 1993.
“I would not have voted for NAFTA because I believe we can do a better job of protecting American workers,” Harris said. Interview May 2019 With CNN. “We also believe we need to do a better job of thinking about issues like the climate crisis and what we need to do to build our society. [them] Participate in these trade agreements. ”
In the run-up to the US presidential election in November, Prime Minister Trudeau has been actively lobbying US politicians and business leaders to tout the mutual benefits of free trade.
Carleton University political scientist Aaron Oettinger previously told CTVNews.ca that “no matter who becomes president of the United States in 2025, the Canadian economy will be affected to varying degrees by protectionism.” . “In any case, Canadians will need to be cautious.”
With files from CTV News National Correspondent Rachel Aiello
