Review of USMCA will be rigorous, says Canadian prime minister

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney stated on Monday that President Donald Trump is a difficult negotiator and that the review of the free trade agreement between the United States, Mexico, and Canada (USMCA), which will start later this year, will be rigorous.

Reporters were informed by the official that the USMCA negotiations should be taken into account when evaluating some of the recent negative remarks made by US President Donald Trump.

Trump, who has frequently mentioned annexation, said last week that Canada “lives off the United States” and on Saturday threatened to impose a 100% tariff on all imports from its northern neighbor if Ottawa concluded a trade agreement with China.

“We are entering into a negotiation, a review, formally, of the USMCA (…) it will be a rigorous review, that is the expectation,” Carney told reporters. “The president (Trump) is a strong negotiator, and I think some of these comments and positions should be seen in the broader context of that.”

Earlier this month, Trump said the United States did not need the USMCA, calling it irrelevant.