Ottawa – Earlier today, the United States agreed to remove its unilateral steel and aluminum tariffs against Canada and Mexico. Many now feel that the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA) can now be ratified. Remember: Canada and Mexico have said that they would not ratify the agreement with these tariffs in place.
However, the Council of Canadians says that does not mean that Canada should proceed with ratifying CUSMA. With U.S. progressives pushing for the deal to be reopened to address problematic provisions, like pharmaceutical market extensions, and enshrine enforceable environmental and labour provisions, the deal’s ratification in the U.S. Congress is threatened. Canadians would be foolhardy to approve this incomplete deal.
“We are worried that the Trudeau government might jump the gun trying to rush this deal through before the next election. However, the CUSMA is not a done deal, as there are many offensive parts of the deal which force us to pay more for drugs, allow corporations to review our rules in advance of the rest of us, and bring in threats to dairy,” said Maude Barlow, Honorary Chairperson of the Council of Canadians, “We simply can’t endorse a deal that isn’t even finished, especially when U.S. progressives are asking us to make the deal better—and they have the votes.”
