The administration of U.S. President Donald Trump is threatening to abandon the current free trade deal that it has with Canada and Mexico.
U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said in a media interview that the Trump administration could decide next year to withdraw completely from the Canada-United States-Mexico trade agreement (CUSMA).
The CUSMA deal was negotiated during Trump’s first term in office and replaced the previous North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) that had been in place for more than 20 years.
CUSMA is scheduled for a review in 2026, and in the lead-up to that negotiation, the Trump administration is talking tough on trade.
“The president’s view is he only wants deals that are a good deal. The reason why we built a review period into CUSMA was in case we needed to revise it, review it or exit it,” said Greer.
The U.S. Trade Representative also said that America may want to negotiate separately with Canada and Mexico and divide any trade deal into two parts.
Trump himself recently said that the CUSMA agreement will either expire or another deal will be worked out with Canada and Mexico.
The current CUSMA trade deal, which went into effect in 2020, requires the three countries to hold a joint review every six years.
News that the U.S. may abandon the trade deal also comes with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney scheduled to meet with Trump on Dec. 5, where the two leaders will discuss trade.
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