It's Just Money

It's not like anyone should be held to account for its mishandling or going missing or anything.

It's not like CUSMA matters or anything:

Canada has told its counterparts in the North American free trade agreement that it hopes to see the pact renewed ahead of the review set to begin in July.

Canada-U.S. Trade Minister Dominic LeBlanc has sent a letter to U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer and Mexico’s Economy Secretary Marcelo Ebrard formally notifying them of Ottawa’s intention, as required under the terms of the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA).

“Canada looks forward to continued engagement with both the United States and Mexico on opportunities to expand our trading partnership and is willing to consider any proposal that can be beneficial to all three nations’ long-term prosperity,” LeBlanc says in the letter.

“In parallel, discussion with the United States on addressing sectoral tariffs will be essential.”

Activity around the CUSMA review beginning July 1 is ramping up, with LeBlanc holding consultations with stakeholders in Canada in recent days.

LeBlanc attended the cabinet meeting on Parliament Hill on the morning of June 2 and is then expected to travel to Washington, D.C., to meet with Greer. It will be the first face-to-face meeting between the two since early March, although they have remained in contact remotely via other means.

Trade talks between Canada and the United States have progressed slowly compared to U.S.-Mexico negotiations. A first round of formal talks around the CUSMA review between the United States and Mexico was concluded last week and two more rounds in June and July have already been scheduled.

After July 1, CUSMA members will have to decide whether to renew the agreement for a certain number of years, with or without modifications, or continue annual reviews if no consensus can be reached. A partner could also decide to pull out of the agreement.

U.S. President Donald Trump and his officials have criticized the agreement and cast doubts about its usefulness, but the North American economies have become highly integrated under CUSMA and its predecessor NAFTA. U.S. Ambassador to Canada Pete Hoekstra said this week he’s optimistic a deal can be reached.

Prime Minister Mark Carney addressed the status of trade talks when speaking with reporters ahead of the cabinet meeting. He said there’s a “bifurcated discussion” between the CUSMA partners because the United States has different technical issues with Canada and Mexico.

Carney said there’s about 30 trade issues between Canada and the United States, whereas there’s around 60 between the United States and Mexico.

“We’re working through a series of those issues, they’re of varying technicality, if I can put them, and some of them are provincial,” Carney said.

He added that for Canada, the more “fundamental structural issues” relate to U.S. tariffs on sectors deemed strategic. Those include the universal duties on autos, steel, aluminum, and lumber, which have been imposed on national security grounds using Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962.

“We’re looking to determine whether there’s a possibility of a new partnership,” Carney added.

 

Also:

The Commons yesterday by a 193 to 134 vote rejected an Opposition motion to freeze mandatory fees charged video streaming services. Companies like Netflix and Disney Plus face a tripling of rates, from 5 to 15 percent of their yearly Canadian revenues, under a May 21 CRTC order: “Who will pay for this?”

And:

Two U.S. lawmakers are set to introduce a bill aimed at preventing “Chinese-connected vehicles” from entering the United States via Canada and Mexico, amid growing concerns over Chinese-made electric vehicles entering the Canadian market.

U.S. Representative Haley Stevens and Senator Elissa Slotkin, both Democrats, announced the Protecting America from Chinese Cars Act last week at a conference in Michigan.

“Vehicles today can collect and transmit massive amounts of data – geolocation of drivers, mapping of critical infrastructure, full-motion video, and more,” the document says. “These ‘connected vehicles’ are roving data collectors – sweeping up information that would threaten our national security if it were to fall into the hands of our adversaries.”

The bill would prohibit connected vehicles from China and other “adversarial nations” from entering the United States, including vehicles made or designed in China, as well as vehicles made by a Chinese company or an entity more than 15 percent owned by Chinese companies, according to a May 28 press release from Stevens’s office.

It would also establish a process for vehicle manufacturers to apply for specific authorization to allow otherwise prohibited vehicles to enter the United States. Authorization would only be granted under “strict conditions, with both transparency and congressional oversight.”

Federal authorities in Canada have also raised concerns that connected vehicles could pose security and privacy risks if the data they collect falls into the wrong hands.

In a memo, Public Safety Canada said Canada must expand its economy in response to a changing geopolitical environment, but warned that opening its markets to “new players” could also “amplify the presence of high-risk vendors.”

The department said unauthorized access to data and connected vehicle systems “could be used to establish patterns of life or conduct surveillance on sensitive sites.” It also said national security laws in countries such as China can compel manufacturers and suppliers to share data with their home governments or police, increasing the risk that Canadian data could be exploited.

A one-page readout on the U.S. bill says connected vehicles could be “remotely accessed and tampered with,” presenting a “tremendous” risk to U.S. safety and security, noting the Chinese auto industry is heavily subsidized, allowing Beijing to “undercut competitors and quickly flood new markets.”

“The Chinese Communist Party should never have access to sensitive information about American drivers, roads, or critical infrastructure,” Stevens said in a statement, adding that the bill would “close dangerous loopholes” that currently allow Chinese connected vehicles to enter the United States through Canada and Mexico.

Recent data from Global Affairs Canada indicates 2,910 Chinese EVs were allowed into Canada for the first time in May, after Prime Minister Mark Carney agreed in January to allow up to 49,000 Chinese EVs into Canada at a reduced tariff rate of 6.1 percent, from the previous 100 percent rate.

Ottawa has said 49,000 EVs represent less than 3 percent of Canada’s auto market, but the quota represents nearly half of Canada’s battery electric sales in 2025.

According to data tabled in the House of Commons on May 29 by International Trade Minister Maninder Sidhu in response to a question by Conservative MP Rhonda Kirkland, the initial 49,000-unit quota will grow 6.5 percent, exceeding 63,000 units by February 2031.

Considering these, does anyone think that Carney wants to renew CUSMA?