Trump administration won't tear up CUSMA, says Canada's ambassador to U.S.

Canada's ambassador to the U.S. is downplaying signals from the Trump administration that it's considering breaking up the three-way North American free trade agreement into separate deals with Mexico and Canada.

Kirsten Hillman, who also serves as Canada's lead negotiator in trade talks with the U.S., said Thursday that the core rules of the Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA) apply to all three countries.

"There is an enormous foundation there that is trilateral, and I haven't heard any indication from the U.S. side that they want to change that foundation," Hillman told CBC's Katie Simpson in Washington on Thursday.

Hillman's comments come a day after U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer floated the potential for separate trade deals with Canada and Mexico to replace CUSMA as early as next year, when the agreement faces a crucial review deadline.

"Our economic relationship with Canada is very, very different than our economic relationship with Mexico," Greer told an event held Wednesday by the Atlantic Council, a Washington-based think-tank focused on international affairs.

"The labour situation's different. The import-export profile is different. The rule of law is different. So it makes sense to talk about things separately with Canada and Mexico," Greer said.

Greer said he hasn't had a joint trade discussion with Canada and Mexico all year but has had head-to-head talks with officials from each country separately.

Hillman says such bilateral talks are not at all uncommon and she predicts CUSMA, or an evolved version of the deal, will stay in place.

No cause for alarm, says Hillman

"I don't think this is an area of alarm," she said. "A stable, predictable, open, manageable trade relationship between our three countries is essential for the prosperity of our three countries. So that is what gives me confidence that this treaty will remain."

All three countries must indicate by July 1 of next year whether they want to extend the agreement, renegotiate its terms or let it expire.

Under U.S. law, Greer must provide a report to Congress by Jan. 2 indicating the administration's plans for the trade deal.

Any country can declare it intends to withdraw from CUSMA at any time by giving six months' notice.

The minister in charge of Canada-U.S. trade, Dominic LeBlanc, told the Canadian Press in a year-end interview that he, too, has no reason to believe the Trump administration is preparing to tear up CUSMA.

Hillman spoke to CBC News ahead of a closed-door meeting on Capitol Hill with the House ways and means committee, which has congressional oversight of tariffs and trade.

She said she would brief the U.S. lawmakers about Canada's objectives for the CUSMA review and provide data about job creation in their communities from trade with Canada.

"Many of those members sell over a billion dollars' worth of goods to Canada every single year. Lots of jobs, lots of economic activity. We need to keep it going. We need to keep it strong," Hillman said.

The Canada-U.S. trading relationship is under heavy strain amid U.S. President Donald Trump's imposition of tariffs since his return to the White House in January.

CUSMA offers Canada crucial protection from much of the tariffs, making the vast bulk of Canadian exports exempt.

Despite the trade deal, the U.S. is still hitting Canadian exports of steel and aluminum with tariffs of 50 per cent, and some automotive exports and kitchen cabinets with tariffs of 25 cent.

Talks were ongoing about reducing the steel and aluminum tariffs but Trump called them off in October, triggered by an anti-tariff television ad campaign by the Ontario government.

Hillman said Thursday that the U.S. has not scheduled any resumption of those talks.

Hillman announced this week that she will step down as ambassador in the new year, after serving in the post since 2020. Prime Minister Mark Carney has not announced who he'll appoint as Hillman's replacement.