U.S. lists demands Canada must meet to extend CUSMA

U.S. trade officials are suggesting that Canada will have to address specific and structural issues if Washington is to extend the Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement.

U.S. trade officials are signalling that Canada will need to make policy changes if it wants long-term certainty under the Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA), as the trade deal comes up for mandatory review next year.

U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer told members of U.S. Congress Wednesday that, while the trade deal has delivered benefits for American exporters, Washington is not prepared to automatically extend it for another 16 years without addressing “specific and structural issues.”

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“(CUSMA) has been successful to a certain degree,” he said, according to a document shared after Greer’s closed-door meeting, adding the gains do not outweigh what he described as “structural shortcomings.”

The United States is calling on Canada to expand access to its dairy market and address concerns about exports of certain industry products.

While Canada allows a limited amount of U.S. dairy to enter tariff-free under CUSMA, Greer told U.S. lawmakers that Canadian policies “unfairly restrict market access” for American products.

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Greer also addressed Canada’s Online Streaming Act and Online News Act, which bring both streaming and news platforms under Canadian cultural and broadcasting rules.

“Canada insists on maintaining its Online Streaming Act, a law that discriminates against U.S. tech and media firms, as well as a number of other measures that restrict digital services trade,” Greer said.

Other Canadian measures flagged by Greer include provincial bans on U.S. alcohol products, procurement rules in Ontario, Quebec and British Columbia, and what he describes as “complicated customs registration for Canadian recipients of U.S. exports.”

Greer also pointed to a dispute involving what he called, “Alberta’s unfair treatment of electrical power distribution providers in Montana,” saying it must be addressed as part of the CUSMA review.

In March, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative listed Alberta’s non-profit electrical grid operator (AESO) as a trade barrier, claiming Montana-based electricity producers aren’t being afforded fair access to the Alberta market.

“For example, during times of surplus or transmission congestion, AESO favours electricity generated within Alberta over equally priced U.S. power flowing across the border,” the report said. “The AESO has also proposed additional fees and other restrictions on imported energy.”

Alberta Affordability and Utilities Minister Nathan Neudorf said at the time that the province does not “treat generators in the U.S. or any other jurisdiction any differently than generators within Alberta.”

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Neudorf added that the report might have had something to do with Alberta having imported less energy from Montana over the past two years, while increasing electrical exports to the state.

The AESO’s 2024 Annual Market Statistics report still listed Montana as a net exporter of electricity to Alberta despite the reduced imports. It also says Alberta imported more power in 2024 from Montana than it did from British Columbia or Saskatchewan.

With files from The Canadian Press