Canada needs to be prepared if the U.S. withdraws from CUSMA

The formal review of the Canada-U.S.-Mexico-Agreement is expected to begin on July 1, 2026. Photo by LARS HAGBERG/AFP/Getty Images files

Canada needs to be prepared for the consequences to its economy if the United States decides to withdraw from the Canada-U.S.-Mexico-Agreement ( CUSMA ), warned former North American Free Trade Agreement ( NAFTA ) chief negotiator John Weekes.

“We’re not even sure that the United States really wants (CUSMA) to continue,” he said in a recent interview with the Financial Post’s Larysa Harapyn. “We have to be prepared for the worst and hope for the best.”

The worst-case scenario, according to Weekes, would mean that the way Canada’s trading relationship with the U.S. has existed for the last 30 years is no longer sustainable.

“The issue here is t