The Canadian government has officially submitted a request to extend the North American trade agreement before it expires in July, amid ongoing trade conflicts with the United States.
On 2 June 2026 GMT+7, the Canadian government formally filed a request to renew the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), the North American free trade deal, as the deadline for negotiating a new agreement approaches this July.
In the extension announcement made last Tuesday, Dominic LeBlanc, Canada's Minister of Canadian-American Trade, called for the agreement to be extended for another 16 years, describing the deal as "highly beneficial" to all three countries.
This request was made while LeBlanc traveled to Washington to meet with U.S. Trade Representative Jaymeison Greer, who had recently completed the latest round of formal bilateral talks with Mexico. However, negotiations with Canada remain delayed due to apparent disagreements over sector-specific tariffs and automotive production.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney told the public that he wants the U.S. to remove or reduce sector-specific tariffs imposed on Canadian steel, aluminum, automobiles, and processed lumber, while Greer signaled that Canada might need to accept some form of U.S. tariffs.
The U.S. has also raised various trade disputes with Canada, including the decision by several Canadian provinces to remove American alcoholic beverages from store shelves in retaliation against tariff measures imposed by President Donald Trump.
Additionally, the U.S. seeks greater access for American businesses to the Canadian market, especially dairy products, which Canada strictly regulates through production quotas and import controls to support domestic farmers.
Last week, Greer also stated that he discussed increasing the ratio of U.S.-made auto parts in vehicles produced in North America to 50%, as well as coordinating with Canada and Mexico on external tariffs imposed on other countries.
Prime Minister Carney told reporters that vehicles produced in Canada already contain a proportion of U.S. parts close to that level.
Currently, Prime Minister Carney faces increasing domestic pressure to quickly reach an agreement. The opposition Conservative Party has criticized him over Canada’s slow economic growth and high youth unemployment, branding Carney as a "con artist" who failed to fulfill his promises to boost the Canadian economy.
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Source:bbc