As President-elect Donald Trump named his nominee for the United States' ambassador to Canada, Canada's provincial and territorial leaders are calling for a new trade pact.
On Wednesday, Trump said he will nominate former U.S. Rep. Pete Hoekstra as his ambassador to Canada. Hoekstra was an 18-year member of Congress representing Michigan and chaired the House Intelligence Committee for two terms. He was also the United States ambassador to the Netherlands under Trump from 2018-2021.
With the U.S. and Canada sharing the world's longest international border, the two nations are key trade partners. The North American Free Trade Agreement came to an end during the first Trump administration, and was replaced by the United States–Mexico–Canada Agreement. That agreement is subject for renegotiation during Trump's second term.
The agreement kept much of the same language as NAFTA, but allowed the U.S. to export more dairy products into Canada. In exchange, Canada could export peanuts, processed peanut products, and a limited amount of products made with sugar into the U.S.
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Ontario Premier Doug Ford agreed on Thursday it is time for Canada to renegotiate the agreement.
"As everyone here knows, there is no partnership more important to the economic success of Ontario and Canada than our close ties with the United States," Ford said. "As we head into the review of the USMCA, our government is doing everything we can to strengthen and grow our historic partnership. We are continuing to build relationships with our U.S. counterparts at all levels of government and all political stripes driving home the message that we need to reject protectionism and promote a buy Can-AM approach. Because while free-trade is essential to economic growth, free trade has to be fair."
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Ford accused Mexico of becoming a backdoor for cars made in China, which he says is hurting manufacturing in the U.S. and Canada. Ford said he and other provincial leaders are wanting Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to consider ending the USMCA in lieu of a direct, one-on-one agreement with the U.S.
"We must prioritize our deepest economic partnership by working directly with the U.S. on a bilateral free-trade agreement that puts Canadian and American workers first with separate discussions for a bilateral agreement with Mexico," Ford said.
Ford's comments come as Trump has proposed massive tariffs on goods imported from China.
Trump has also said he would like to renegotiate the USMCA.
"There are always things that you can do better. I got a clause that gives me the right to re-negotiate [the USMCA]. Who else would think of that except a business person?" Trump told Fox News told host Maria Bartiromo before the 2024 election. "We've been screwed by Mexico and by China and by Canada and by the European Union."
