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 economic consequences if the United States decides to withdraw from the Canada U.S. Mexico Agreement ( CUSMA ), warned John Weekes, former chief negotiator of the North American Free Trade Agreement ( NAFTA ).

“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 be that Canada’s 30-year trading relationship with the U.S. is no longer sustainable.

“The issue here is that we can’t really control what