“Canada – USA Tariff Wars”

OTTAWA – Days after the Trump administration decided to require annual reviews of the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement instead of renewing it in its current form until 2042, the Canadian government says significant uncertainty remains over the next steps in trade negotiations.

“We don’t have any more predictability about the annual review process because this is somewhat uncharted territory. It’s not typical for this kind of agreement,” Canada-U.S. Trade Minister Dominic LeBlanc said in a telephone interview Friday.

U.S. Ambassador to Canada Pete Hoekstra’s speech at his Fourth of July party in Ottawa included a political nudge aimed at Canada, with American F-35 fighter jets flying over the crowd and a comment about some provinces’ bans on American booze.

Hoekstra set a goal on stage outside his official residence to get American liquor back on Canadian shelves by his next Independence Day party.

“Next year, hopefully we can all take a toast of American bourbon legally in the province of Ontario,” Hoekstra said. “And toast the friendship and the relationship between the United States and Canada.”

For months, policymakers, businesses and trade watchers in Washington had been bracing for a turbulent spring and summer around the future of the USMCA, the trade pact binding the United States, Canada and Mexico.

But, to quote former UK Prime Minister Harold Macmillan, “Events, dear boy, events.” The war with Iran has dominated Washington’s attention, stripping away much of the political heat that was expected to surround the pact’s renewal.

The U.S. envoy to Canada says 14 months of trade talk between Canada and the Trump administration has resolved few issues, but insists the Americans will keep talking in the hopes of striking an agreement on the future of CUSMA, as well as settling other issues.

U.S. Ambassador to Canada Pete Hoekstra made the remarks on CBC’s Ottawa Morning, where he was asked by host Rebecca Zandbergen how far apart he believes Canada and the United States are on settling the trade irritants that are frustrating a renewal of CUSMA.

Canadians have heard plenty about the Gordie Howe International Bridge — but largely from one perspective. Much of the public debate has focused on allegations that the owner of the Ambassador Bridge, a prominent Republican donor, has been lobbying the White House to delay the bridge’s opening in order to protect his commercial interests. That narrative has dominated headlines in Canada. After speaking with U.S. Ambassador Pete Hoekstra on The Food Professor Podcast, however, one thing became clear: Washington believes there is much more to the story.

The Trump administration surprised no one with its long-expected announcement Wednesday that the U.S. would not join Canada and Mexico in extending the free trade deal between the three countries.

Where things go from here, however, with renegotiating the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA) is anyone’s guess.

One thing is certain: the deal remains in effect while the negotiations happen, as it doesn’t expire for another 10 years.

U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration is opting not to extend its trade agreement with Canada and Mexico, triggering what are expected to be tough negotiations on amending the deal.

The announcement by U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer followed a virtual meeting on Wednesday with Canada-U.S. Trade Minister Dominic LeBlanc and Mexico’s economy secretary, Marcelo Ebrard.

The U.S. announcement does not kill CUSMA, which does not expire until 2036.

Canada Day this year on Wednesday coincides with decision day for the Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement on trade, or as the Americans call it, the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement on trade.

It’s not a deadline to reach a deal, but there are three options as to what can happen on July 1.

Looks like it’s Zombie CUSMA  and I don’t think Carney is sorry at all.

The still-shuttered Gordie Howe International Bridge between Windsor, Ont., and Detroit is continuing to serve as a flashpoint in the U.S. elections, with a Republican Senatorial candidate saying only he can get the bridge to open, while also claiming “it was not a great deal for us” and that “we’ll never see any revenue from that thing.”

WASHINGTON, June 30 (Reuters) – U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration is expected to formally declare on Wednesday that it will not extend the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement on trade, starting a decade-long clock to wind down the 32-year-old North American free trade zone as the three ‌countries haggle over proposed changes.

That declaration will kick off a six-year review session, part of a “sunset clause” negotiated by President Donald Trump’s first ‌administration. However, it will do little to alter contentious negotiations over the pact’s future, including sweeping demands to boost U.S. and regional content in North American automotive production and trade protections to block ​Chinese goods from benefiting from USMCA.

The Detroit-based trucking family that has owned and operated the Ambassador Bridge between Detroit and Windsor since the 1970s appears to have found powerful backing for their business interests.

The billionaire head of that family is Matthew Moroun. He made a million-dollar campaign donation to MAGA Inc. back in January, according to campaign finance reports. In early February, Trump pushed back on the opening of the bridge, saying on Feb. 9 that he would block it.