WASHINGTON — 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.
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.
Greer has 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 faced sharp questions from Democrats about 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.
Kelly Geraldine Malone, The Canadian Press
