U.S. President Donald Trump would “rather be independent,” he asserted Tuesday in response to a question on whether he plans to “update” the free trade pact with Canada and Mexico after threatening a range of new tariffs. The question came when Trump called in to Fox News for a live interview Tuesday morning. Fox & Friends co-host Steve Doocy asked the president if he was looking to “update” the Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement, or CUSMA. The U.S. opted not to renew it last month, triggering a review process. “I don’t care. I mean I don’t really want to. I’d rather be independent,” responded the president, after extolling the virtues of his tariff regime, which he said has pushed Toyota to spend billions on auto plants in the U.S. in order to reduce duties. “Mexico and Canada need us, we don’t need them,” he also said, adding CUSMA is “not important for us.” Trump claimed the U.S. is once again respected on the world stage thanks to his policies implemented over the last 18 months while speaking in Michigan. This declaration has prompted new questions about Canada’s ability to get the Americans to make a deal. “We’ve had a year and a half of (Prime Minister) Mark Carney’s wait-and-see approach, which has not produced a single deal,” said Conservative Canada-U.S. relations critic Shuvaloy Majumdar. “We haven’t seen the intensity that a government that is focused on its interests should be bringing to our own North American contact,” he said Tuesday. It’s not the first time Trump has taken this tone. In June, Trump told reporters he wasn’t looking to renew the deal and said “we don’t need anything” Canada nor Mexico has. At the time, CTV News political commentator Tom Mulcair chalked it as a negotiating tactic and “typical Donald Trump bluster.” In 2024, the U.S. imported US$412 billion worth of goods from Canada. In 2025, it imported US$382 billion. From January to May 2026, Canadian exports to the U.S. have amounted to US$163 billion. A new round of tariffs U.S.-Canada Trade Minister Dominic LeBlanc arrived in Washington on Tuesday, his office confirmed to CTV News. He is joined by Canada’s chief trade negotiator to the United States, Janice Charette. LeBlanc’s press secretary did not specify with whom the minister will meet, nor how long he intends to spend in D.C. The trip comes days after Trump announced new tariffs on Canada last week, citing discontent with provincial bans on U.S. alcohol, supply management on dairy, and certain tariffs and quotas on cars. Wine, hockey sticks, cement and a long list of other goods will face a 50 per cent tariffs next month. He also announced new tariffs on Canada and others, citing forced labour, on Thursday. CUSMA has previously shielded Canada from the bulk of Trump’s tariffs, which have been levied against countries around the world. The White House wrote in an exception in previous tariff amendments to goods that fall under CUSMA. Trump left that caveat out for the 50 per cent tariffs slated for August. With all that’s on the line, one longtime Canada-U.S. relations expert told CTV News that she thinks Canada should be treating this trade war, like a war. “I think there needs to be a very serious national conversation in Canada about how far are you willing to go?” said Scotty Greenwood, founder of Ottawa Street Strategy. “It’s not because you wish to exacerbate the trade war with tit-for-tat retaliation. That’s not working, and it’s not that you want to … do something dramatic that’ll hurt your own economy. But the U.S. has to be convinced that you’re willing to. That’s I think, where we are.” Most Canadians want counter-tariffs A survey released Sunday found Canadians are resolute against tariffs. Just seven per cent of those surveyed said Canada should “capitulate to U.S. demands” to avoid tariffs, according to the Angus Reid Institute. Sixty-two per cent want counter-tariffs, though they were split on whether those should match the American regime, or be more limited. Forty-three per cent of Canadians appear confident Carney can deliver a “good” deal with the U.S., down from 51 per cent in April. Even when Canada and the U.S. reach a deal, 75 per cent don’t think Trump will stick to it. A new report from the Canadian Chamber of Commerce’s Business Data Lab released Tuesday suggest that Trump’s renewed tariff threats have fuelled a new uneasiness for Canadian businesses. The data also indicates that the biggest economic cost may not be the tariffs, but the investment that’s been halted. “Holding back on business investments today, whether it’s investing in machinery, equipment, (research and development), or people, means delayed in future growth, in wages and productivity later on,” Patrick Gill, vice-president of the Business Data Lab, told CTV News on Tuesday. “With all this uncertainty, it’s really starting to affect our long-term competitiveness.” Late last week, Carney said his government will do “whatever it takes to defend and support our families, our workers and our businesses.” He did not rule out retaliation if an agreement is not reachable. With files from CTV News’ Rachel Aiello and Spencer van Dyk
