TORONTO (AP) 鈥� is calling on the United States and Mexico to renew the for another 16 years just as U.S. President Donald Trump revives talk of making Canada the 51st state.
Dominic LeBlanc, Canada鈥檚 minister for U.S. trade, sent a letter Tuesday to U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer and Mexico鈥檚 Economy Secretary Marcelo Ebrard
鈥淭he Agreement is highly beneficial to each of our countries and to the integrated North American economy,鈥� LeBlanc wrote.
LeBlanc said Canada also received letters from Greer and Ebrard. Ebrard said on Tuesday that Mexico would also like it to be extended to 16 years.
The letters come ahead of the scheduled July review of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, or USMCA, the latest iteration of a North American free trade pact that has intertwined the economies of the United States, Mexico and Canada since the early 1990s. It can either be subject to annual reviews going forward, or renewed for 16 years.
LeBlanc and Canada鈥檚 Chief Trade Negotiator Janice Charette were in Washington on Tuesday for a meeting with Greer. LeBlanc said he presented a series of proposals to Greer that responded to a number of issues the U.S. has raised with Canada for some time.
鈥淥n July 1 as Ambassador Greer has said publicly, if there is no consensus amongst the three parties to extend for 16 years, the agreement remains in place for 10 more years and there is a series of annual reviews,鈥� LeBlanc said.
LeBlanc has previously said he believes the U.S. might want to have the trade agreement subject to annual reviews, and that the Trump administration might seek to cause uncertainty about the trade pact’s permanence.
Trump has repeatedly said he believes Canada would be better off as a U.S. state 鈥� prompting repeated pushback and annoyance from Canadian politicians who have made a point of defending their country’s sovereignty. On Monday, Trump posted 鈥�51st State!鈥� on social media linking to a news article reporting that Canada is falling into a technical recession. The post was later reposted by U.S. Ambassador to Canada, Pete Hoekstra.
issued a peeved response Tuesday: 鈥淚 can鈥檛 believe I have to say this again, but Canada will never be the 51st state. Canada is not for sale.”
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney was asked Tuesday if Ambassador Hoekstra should leave the country, but the Canadian leader said no.
鈥淚t鈥檚 an administration that we have to work with. It鈥檚 our biggest trading relationship. It鈥檚 our biggest security relationship … we take the administration as it is,鈥� Carney said, adding that Trump posts a lot on social media. “We鈥檙e not going to respond to, react to, everything that he posts.”
Carney earlier acknowledged some weakness in the country’s economy as he walked into a Cabinet meeting on Tuesday. Carney said the U.S. has about 30 different trade irritants with Canada compared to nearly 60 with Mexico.
The U.S. could withdraw from the agreement with six months notice.
鈥淭here is a possibility of a new partnership there,鈥� Carney said.
The USMCA has allowed Canada and Mexico to avoid much of Trump鈥檚 protectionist measures because many Mexican and Canadian goods are covered by the free trade agreement. But there are some key specific tariffs on things like aluminum that are damaging the integrated North American economy.
Trump鈥檚 talk of making Canada the 51st state has infuriated Canadians, who have been to the U.S. in big numbers.
Illinois Gov. , one of the Democratic Party鈥檚 leading presidential prospects, said Trump has tried to destroy the relationship with America鈥檚 northern neighbor with 鈥渃haotic tariffs and mindless cruelty.鈥� Pritzker made the comments in a zoom call with Democrats Abroad on Tuesday.
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AP reporter Fabiola S谩nchez in Mexico City contributed to this report.
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