'If it ain't broke don't fix it': U.S. ambassador warns Canada against cutting Mexico out of trilateral trade deal

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Cutting Mexico out of the current North American free trade deal "may not be the best path to take," says U.S. Ambassador to Canada David Cohen.

"I come from a school of 'if it ain't broke don't fix it,' when we have this really incredible, incredible agreement in CUSMA, by the way, an agreement that was negotiated by Donald Trump," Cohen said, in an interview on CTV's Question Period airing on Sunday.

Cohen's comments come after a few Canadian premiers voiced support for the idea of cutting Mexico out of the trilateral free trade agreement, or Canada-U.S.-Mexico agreement, in favour of bilateral pacts between just Canada and the U.S., and Canada and Mexico.

"We've got to put Canada first," Alberta Premier Danielle Smith said in an interview on a previous episode of CTV's Question Period. According to Smith, Alberta has a $188-billion trade relationship with the United States, compared to the $2.9-billion trade relationship with Mexico.

Ontario Premier Doug Ford initially floated the idea in the wake of U.S. president-elect Donald Trump's re-election.

Trump in this last election campaign vowed to reopen the agreement when it comes up for review in 2026. The trilateral deal was first inked in 1994, and at the time it was called NAFTA. It was then renegotiated and re-titled as CUSMA, or the USMCA depending on what country you're in, during Trump's first term.

Ford, who is also the chair of Canada’s Premiers, then said there was a "clear consensus" among his provincial counterparts to push for separate trade deals with the two countries.

Ford suggested Canada should take this path because Mexico has become a "back door" for China to circumvent tariffs from the U.S. and Canada and get its products, namely vehicles, into North America, "undercutting" Canadian and American workers.

Cohen – who will be replaced in January by Trump's pick, former Michigan congressman Pete Hoekstra – said "without naming names," he "may have heard from a premier or two on this subject."

He said his advice – based on the views of the Biden-Harris administration – is that because of the power of the pact and the $1.8 trillion in trade that flows between the three trading nations, "there'd be a big burden on the United States … to want to excise Mexico from CUSMA or USMCA, because of the benefits that we get."

Cohen also said that he's mentioned to the Canadians worried about the fate of the new-NAFTA, that "at the end of the day," the deal in place is one Trump negotiated, and it's an agreement that "works really well."

"So I think there's a high burden to say, 'Let's break up that agreement and just do a bilateral agreement,'" Cohen said, adding that there are other ways to address the central concerns about the importation of Chinese vehicles through Mexico.

"We should focus on ways to deal with that matter of concern," Cohen said. "Chucking Mexico out of the agreement, may not be the best path to take."

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland have acknowledged the concerns around Chinese investment, and agreed those need to be addressed, but have yet to indicate if ousting Mexico from the pact is the way to go.

With files from CTV News' Spencer Van Dyk and Stephanie Ha

You can watch the full interview with David Cohen on CTV Question Period airing Sunday at 11ET/8PT on CTV and CTV News Channel.