Canadian officials will meet their Mexican and American counterparts on July 1 for the first tri-lateral meeting to review the Canada-U.S.-Mexico (CUSMA) agreement, a spokesperson for Canada-U.S. Trade Minister Dominic LeBlanc confirmed.
In a statement to CTV News, the spokesperson said LeBlanc is looking forward to meeting with his U.S. and Mexican counterparts on July 1, “as prescribed in the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement.”
“This will be an opportunity to build on the positive, constructive bilateral discussions he has had with both countries in recent weeks,” the spokesperson said.
LeBlanc’s office tells CTV News the meeting is scheduled to be virtual for now, but that things could evolve.
Minister LeBlanc and Chief Trade Negotiator Janice Charette met with the United States Trade Representative Jamieson Greer on the sidelines of the G7 summit in France last week.
The U.S. and Mexico have already started formal bi-lateral negotiations, while Canada and the U.S. have not yet done so.
July 1 is the deadline for all three parties involved in the trade pact to decide whether to renew the deal for another 16 years, withdraw from the agreement altogether, or start an annual rolling review process that could last years.
Both Canada and Mexico have expressed they’d like to extend the current deal for 16 more years, but while Washington has not officially stated its intention, Trump has signalled he does not want to extend the current deal.
In France last week Minister LeBlanc said talks with his U.S. counterpart about the critical continental trade pact have not been a “one-way conversation.”
In the statement to CTV News the minister’s office said he is “looking forward to continuing the work of supporting Canadian workers, farmers and businesses, on July 1 and beyond.”
‘I do expect a bit more of a rocky road’
In an interview with CTV News Saturday, former White House trade adviser Kelly Ann Shaw expressed the belief that a new agreement can be reached, but that she expects a bit more of a “rocky road” between Canada and the U.S. in the months ahead.
“I do think ultimately both sides will find their way forward, but at the same time I do expect a bit more of a rocky road between now and potentially this fall, when I think that those formal negotiations with Canada could be ready to kick off,” she said.
Shaw said she believes the U.S. administration is interested in renegotiating a new deal within the next 12 months.
When asked what Canadians should, or shouldn’t, read into the fact that Washington has delayed official negotiations with Canada, Shaw said she believes it means something.
“It means exactly what you think it means, which is that things are going better with Mexico than they are, from the U.S. perspective, with Canada,” she said.
“Between the Davos speech, between Ronald Regan ads, between the fact (that) U.S. alcohol’s not sold on shelves in Canada, there are a lot of things that are sort of holding this back. I think we’ll get there, but there may need to be a little more water under (the) bridge before those formal negotiations begin with Canada.”
With files from the Canadian Press
