Overview
- U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, speaking at a Semafor event Friday, called Canada "They suck" and said President Donald Trump views the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement as a bad deal that should be reworked.
- A Commerce Department spokesperson later said the "they suck" remark referred to what the secretary called an unfair U.S.-Canada trade imbalance, not to Canada’s negotiation tactics.
- Lutnick criticized rules and outcomes he says push auto plants from Ohio and Michigan to Mexico and mocked Ottawa’s recent China outreach that opened a narrow path for Chinese electric cars in exchange for canola and other farm sales.
- Canada’s trade lead Dominic LeBlanc said he had a positive 45‑minute call with Lutnick earlier this week and described ongoing talks as constructive ahead of the scheduled review.
- The three countries face a July 1 deadline to extend or revise the pact or start a 10‑year sunset countdown, and U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer has warned not all issues will be settled by that date, a timeline that could affect tariffs on steel, aluminum, and autos and Canada’s leverage in energy and critical minerals.