Canada’s chief trade negotiator to the United States said on April 21 that she did not expect all outstanding matters under the North American trade pact to be resolved by the July 1 review date, but stressed that a failure to settle every issue by that date would not mean the agreement collapses.
In her first public comments since taking up the role in February, Janice Charette addressed a panel convened by the Canadian Chamber of Commerce in Ottawa. On the prospect of meeting the July 1 review target, she said: "I think there’s a lot of focus on July 1, which is kind of a checkpoint. It’s not a cliff."
The three-party trade deal - known as USMCA in the United States and CUSMA in Canada - came into effect in July 2020. Under its terms, the three signatories must conduct a review and either agree to extend the agreement for six years or allow it to move to annual reviews.
Charette noted that, given the breadth of issues to be handled and the United States' own engagements in global deals, it would be unrealistic to expect every outstanding question to be cleared by the July 1 deadline. "The trading agreement does remain in place," she added, even if some matters are unresolved by that date.
The negotiator said her instructions emphasize preserving the core features of the agreement. "My instructions are very much about protecting the fundamentals of this agreement, not revisiting them," she said. At the same time, Charette identified a clear mandate to press for relief from U.S. tariffs affecting Canadian steel, aluminum and automotive products, and to pursue settlements on long-running challenges such as softwood lumber and other subsectors.
Although formal negotiations between Canada and the United States have not yet begun, the two countries have been engaging on sector-specific tariff issues that have had significant effects on Canadian industries. The exemptions provided under the current deal have left Canada with an effective U.S. import tariff rate described as among the lowest in the world, a benefit that Canadian officials are seeking to protect even as they negotiate specific relief on targeted tariffs.
Charette’s remarks underline a pragmatic approach: manage stakeholder expectations around the July 1 review, maintain the agreement’s foundational terms, and focus negotiating energy on tariff relief and persistent disputes that have hit Canadian sectors hard. Business groups have warned that moving to annual reviews could heighten uncertainty and weigh on investment and hiring, a concern reflected in the negotiator’s emphasis on securing durable outcomes where possible.
Context and next steps
With the review timeline approaching, Canada faces the task of advancing sectoral discussions on steel, aluminum, automotive products and lumber while acknowledging some items may carry over beyond the July 1 checkpoint. Charette’s public comments signal an approach aimed at safeguarding the agreement’s fundamentals while pressing the U.S. for tariff relief in areas that have been damaging to Canadian production and exports.