U.S. senators express support for trade pact as Trump questions CUSMA’s future

Ranking member Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., left, speaks as committee chairman Sen. Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, listens during a hearing of the Senate Finance Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington on Thursday, Sept. 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

WASHINGTON — United States lawmakers expressed support for the Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement on trade during a Thursday committee hearing after President Donald Trump floated the idea of ending the critical continental trade pact.

Republican Sen. Mike Crapo, from Idaho, told the Senate finance committee that the trade agreement, better known in Canada as CUSMA, has protected American jobs, strengthened manufacturing and helped to expand the economy.

“As the (CUSMA) review process proceeds, it is wise also to remember to not let the perfect become the enemy of the good,” Crapo said.

The trade agreement is up for mandatory review this year but Trump has indicated he’s in no rush to sign on for a 16-year extension. The president has said CUSMA may have served its purpose and has called the trade deal “irrelevant.”

The president’s trade team has also cast doubt on CUSMA’s future. United States Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, who will be a key figure in the upcoming negotiations, has said it may be better for the U.S. to seek separate agreements with Canada and Mexico.

Both Democrat and Republican lawmakers backed the trade pact during the Senate hearing. Crapo said there are areas of CUSMA that need improvement but “this trilateral relationship should not be taken for granted.”

CUSMA was negotiated during the first Trump administration to replace the North American Free Trade Agreement.

It was a key early test of Ottawa’s efforts to work with the Trump administration during his first term. While Trump threatened repeatedly to withdraw from the pact, ultimately an agreement was reached that was praised by all three countries.

The trade pact also received overwhelming — 89 to 10 — bipartisan U.S. Senate support.

CUSMA’s review essentially sets up a three-way choice for the partner countries to make in July. They can renew the deal for another 16 years, withdraw from it or signal both non-renewal and non-withdrawal — which would trigger an annual review that could keep negotiations going for up to a decade.

Canadian officials are preparing for longer negotiations.

Trump’s repeated list of complaints about Canada could indicate where talks might get contentious. A major target of his ire is Canada’s dairy supply management system, which was brought up several times by senators during Thursday’s hearing.

Democrat Sen. Ron Wyden told the hearing that “Canada has never come into compliance with its market access commitments under the law, keeping our exports out of the Canadian market.”

The lawmakers also mentioned other trade irritants. Montana Republican Sen. Steve Daines said he was grateful for the United States’ “partners to the north and partners to the south.”

He said Canada is his state’s most important trading partner but Trump is correct in wanting to improve CUSMA.

“The joint review is an opportunity to address issues like discrimination against Montana electricity exports to Alberta, improper digital trade regulations and strengthening rules of origin so (CUSMA) benefits only flow to member countries,” Daines told the hearing.

The trade pact has shielded Canada and Mexico from the worst impacts of Trump’s tariffs. The president increased duties on Canada to 35 per cent last August but those tariffs do not apply to goods compliant with CUSMA.

The president’s separate Section 232 tariffs on steel, aluminum, automobiles, lumber and cabinets are slamming Canadian industries.

Democrat Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto told the hearing that when CUSMA was adopted, it included a letter signed by Trump that said the United States would exclude most vehicles and auto parts from future Section 232 tariffs.

Other lawmakers talked about how Trump is undermining the agreement, citing his erratic threats to tariff and deregulate Canadian-made aircraft and his recent social media post saying he would delay the opening of the Gordie Howe Bridge that will connect Ontario to Michigan.

Kevin Brady, a former Republican lawmaker and senior consultant for the United States House of Representatives, told the hearing that he believes Trump does still value the agreement.

“His style has always been aggressive and tough in these agreements,” Brady said. “But it shouldn’t interfere with these three countries strengthening this, preserving it and extending it.”

Kelly Geraldine Malone, The Canadian Press