Trade officials from Canada and the United States will hold their first face-to-face meeting of the year this Friday in Washington, as both nations gear up for a mandatory evaluation of their trilateral trade agreement with Mexico.
Dominic LeBlanc, Canada’s minister overseeing trade relations with the U.S., is scheduled to sit down with American trade representative Jamieson Greer, according to confirmation from the minister’s office.
Jean-Sébastien Comeau, communications director for LeBlanc’s office, stated: “They will discuss the upcoming trilateral review of the CUSMA, as well as bilateral concerns.”
The meeting takes place against the backdrop of the approaching July 1 deadline for reviewing the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, known as CUSMA in Canada and USMCA in the United States.
While the two officials have maintained phone contact throughout the year, their last in-person meeting occurred in October, according to statements LeBlanc made the previous week.
Canada is pushing to eliminate duties on several crucial industries, including steel and aluminum, automotive sectors, copper goods, and lumber products. These tariffs have resulted in Canadian job losses, despite data showing nearly 90% of Canada’s overall exports enter the U.S. without tariffs under the current trade agreement.
The discussions take on added significance given President Donald Trump’s previous statements suggesting he might abandon the three-nation deal, calling it unnecessary for America and indicating preference for separate bilateral agreements with Canada and Mexico.
Speaking at a recent event, LeBlanc indicated Canada is working with the U.S. to eliminate tariffs on impacted industries, with potential agreements possibly being incorporated into bilateral deals during the trade pact review process.
Greer has characterized negotiations with Canada as “more challenging,” pointing to ongoing obstacles including Canadian restrictions on dairy markets and limitations on American wine and spirits sales.
While Canada and the United States have yet to formally begin their review process, the U.S. has already initiated discussions with Mexico. American and Mexican negotiators are set to begin bilateral talks during the week of March 16 as part of their joint assessment of the trade agreement, the U.S. Trade Representative’s office announced Thursday.
