Canada calls for US and Mexico free trade agreement to be renewed for 16 years

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TORONTO (AP) — Canada is calling on the United States and Mexico to renew the free trade agreement among their three countries for another 16 years just as U.S. President Donald Trump revives talk of making Canada the 51st state.

Dominic LeBlanc, Canada’s minister for U.S. trade, sent a letter Tuesday to U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer and Mexico’s Economy Secretary Marcelo Ebrard conveying Canada’s recommendation.

“The Agreement is highly beneficial to each of our countries and to the integrated North American economy,” LeBlanc wrote.

LeBlanc said Canada also received letters from Greer and Ebrard. Ebrard said on Tuesday that Mexico would also like it to be extended to 16 years.

The letters come ahead of the scheduled July review of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, or USMCA, the latest iteration of a North American free trade pact that has intertwined the economies of the United States, Mexico and Canada since the early 1990s. It can either be subject to annual reviews going forward, or renewed for 16 years.

LeBlanc and Canada’s Chief Trade Negotiator Janice Charette were in Washington on Tuesday for a meeting with Greer. LeBlanc said he presented a series of proposals to Greer that responded to a number of issues the U.S. has raised with Canada for some time.

“On July 1 as Ambassador Greer has said publicly, if there is no consensus amongst the three parties to extend for 16 years, the agreement remains in place for 10 more years and there is a series of annual reviews,” LeBlanc said.

LeBlanc has previously said he believes the U.S. might want to have the trade agreement subject to annual reviews, and that the Trump administration might seek to cause uncertainty about the trade pact's permanence.

Trump has repeatedly said he believes Canada would be better off as a U.S. state — prompting repeated pushback and annoyance from Canadian politicians who have made a point of defending their country's sovereignty. On Monday, Trump posted “51st State!” on social media linking to a news article reporting that Canada is falling into a technical recession. The post was later reposted by U.S. Ambassador to Canada, Pete Hoekstra.

Ontario Premier Doug Ford issued a peeved response Tuesday: “I can’t believe I have to say this again, but Canada will never be the 51st state. Canada is not for sale."

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney was asked Tuesday if Ambassador Hoekstra should leave the country, but the Canadian leader said no.

“It’s an administration that we have to work with. It’s our biggest trading relationship. It’s our biggest security relationship ... we take the administration as it is,” Carney said, adding that Trump posts a lot on social media. "We’re not going to respond to, react to, everything that he posts."

Carney earlier acknowledged some weakness in the country's economy as he walked into a Cabinet meeting on Tuesday. Carney said the U.S. has about 30 different trade irritants with Canada compared to nearly 60 with Mexico.

The U.S. could withdraw from the agreement with six months notice.

“There is a possibility of a new partnership there,” Carney said.

The USMCA has allowed Canada and Mexico to avoid much of Trump’s protectionist measures because many Mexican and Canadian goods are covered by the free trade agreement. But there are some key specific tariffs on things like aluminum that are damaging the integrated North American economy.

Trump’s talk of making Canada the 51st state has infuriated Canadians, who have been canceling trips to the U.S. in big numbers.

Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, one of the Democratic Party’s leading presidential prospects, said Trump has tried to destroy the relationship with America’s northern neighbor with “chaotic tariffs and mindless cruelty.” Pritzker made the comments in a zoom call with Democrats Abroad on Tuesday.

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AP reporter Fabiola Sánchez in Mexico City contributed to this report.