Carney says Canada-US trade talks will move to USMCA review process

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By Ryan Patrick Jones

TORONTO (Reuters) -Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said on Tuesday that trade negotiations with the U.S. were ongoing, and a lot of the remaining issues would move to a forthcoming review of the United States-Mexico-Canada trade agreement (USMCA).

Speaking at a press conference in New York after attending the United Nations General Assembly, Carney said while Canada currently had the best trade deal with the U.S. of any country due to USMCA-compliant goods being exempt from U.S. tariffs, it could be better.

“President Trump and I agree on that. We have a number of discussions, our officials have a number of discussions on how that can be potentially structured. A lot of that will roll into this process of the review of what we call CUSMA,” Carney said, using the acronym Canadians use for the trade agreement.

Canada has been holding talks for months with Washington on a new economic and security relationship, with the aim of removing all U.S. tariffs on Canadian goods, but those talks have stalled.

The USMCA, which replaced the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) in 2020 and was negotiated during U.S. President Donald Trump’s first term, requires the three countries to hold a joint review after six years.

The U.S., Canada and Mexico each kicked off last week separate public consultations on the review, which is set for next year.

“With respect to the negotiations with the Americans, they’re ongoing,” Carney said. “We start from a strong position and from a position where we can make it better, and when the right deal is there for Canada, we will sign.”

(Reporting by Ryan Patrick Jones in Toronto; Editing by Jamie Freed)