While U.S. President Donald Trump is still calling for Canada to be the 51st state, Canadian officials want the free trade agreement the two countries signed with Mexico to be renewed for another 16 years.
According to The Associated Press, Dominic LeBlanc, Canada’s minister for U.S. trade, sent a letter Tuesday to U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer and Mexico’s Economy Secretary Marcelo Ebrard informing them of the request.
“The Agreement is highly beneficial to each of our countries and to the integrated North American economy,” LeBlanc wrote, according to the AP.
LeBlanc said Canada also received letters from Greer and Ebrard. Ebrard said on Tuesday that Mexico would also like it to be extended to 16 years.
The agreement — United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, or USMCA — is due for review in July. The North American free trade pact that has intertwined the economies of the United States, Mexico and Canada since the early 1990s. It can either be subject to annual reviews going forward, or renewed for 16 years, the AP reported.
LeBlanc and Canada’s Chief Trade Negotiator Janice Charette were in Washington on Tuesday for a meeting with Greer. LeBlanc said he presented a series of proposals to Greer that responded to a number of issues the U.S. has raised with Canada for some time.
“On July 1 as Ambassador Greer has said publicly, if there is no consensus amongst the three parties to extend for 16 years, the agreement remains in place for 10 more years and there is a series of annual reviews,” LeBlanc told the AP.
On Monday, Trump posted “51st State!” on social media linking to a news article reporting that Canada is falling into a technical recession. The post was later reposted by U.S. Ambassador to Canada, Pete Hoekstra, the AP said.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford issued a peeved response Tuesday: “I can’t believe I have to say this again, but Canada will never be the 51st state. Canada is not for sale.”
