The Group of Seven Summit of industralized democracies that begins Monday in France comes ahead of the scheduled July 1 review of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement, or USMCA. It is a crucial moment in trade talks for the latest iteration of the North American free trade pact that has intertwined the economies of the three countries since the early 1990s. Trump said this week that he may not renew the deal.
Preserving the accord is critical for Canada, where 70% of exports go to the U.S.
Canadian historian Robert Bothwell said Trump is more of a problem for Prime Minister Carney “than anybody else because we are more exposed to the United States.”
President Trump leaves for the G7 summit right after he hosts UFC fights at the White House on Sunday for his 80th birthday.
The summit comes amid strain in the Canada-U.S. relationship — one of the most durable and amicable alliances.
Trump said again this week that the U.S. doesn't need anything that Canada has. Carney has set a goal for Canada to double its non-U.S. exports in the next decade, saying Trump’s trade war is causing a chill in investment.
Trump administration officials keep noting that only two countries, China and Canada, retaliated against America in the trade war. U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer says Canada’s retaliatory measures are a major issue in talks.
Daniel Béland, a political science professor at McGill University in Montreal, said Carney seems to have moderated his tone toward the Trump administration to avoid worsening relations.
“There is a clear tension between what Prime Minister Carney said in his Davos speech about middle powers standing up to hegemons and his attempt to nudge the U.S. administration ‘in the right direction’ with regard to the USMCA review and trade policy more generally,” Béland said.
Carney has downplayed Trump’s most recent comments about Canada becoming the 51st state.
Canada and Mexico want the USMCA to be renewed for another 16 years. More likely it will be subject to annual reviews for the next 10 years.
