Last week the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) held a three-day public hearing, Dec. 3-5, on the operation of the United-States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) in preparation for the first Six-Year Joint Review of the USMCA on July 1, 2026.
Earlier this week, Canadian Produce Marketing Association President Ron Lemaire shared, on LinkedIn, the Dec. 8 letter he penned to Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney and other Canadian government officials urging for the full 16-year renewal of USMCA.
“On behalf of leaders in Canada’s agriculture and agri-food sector, we write to echo the recent correspondence from our U.S. counterparts and express our strong support for the full 16-year renewal of the Canada-United-States-Mexico Agreement,” the letter says. “Our organizations represent a broad spectrum of agriculture and agri-food industries — including farmers, ranchers, processors and agribusinesses, to name a few. These stakeholders have greatly benefited from the seamless economic integration across North America made possible by the provisions of the CUSMA agreement.”
In the letter, Lemaire goes on to say that the North American free trade agreement is “instrumental in fostering a stable, integrated North American agricultural market.”
“The agreement’s provisions — particularly those related to sanitary and phytosanitary measures, biotechnology, technical barriers to trade and dispute settlement — have provided the predictability and stability, regulatory clarity as well as science-based frameworks necessary for innovation investment and growth,” the letter continues.
At last week’s New York Produce Show in New York City, The Packer spoke with Lemaire on USMCA, Canadian sentiment toward U.S. products and more.
“Our work’s cut out for us, but it’s important that we drive forward together to try and find solutions, because without an integrated North American market, the only losers are the consumer,” Lemaire told The Packer.
How is Canada feeling as we look ahead to the July 2026 six-year review of USMCA?
“If we see a real turbulent negotiation that Canadians feel their backs are being placed against the wall, it’s not going to help the entire perspective on purchasing U.S. products,” says Lemaire, adding that about 69% of Canadians are still eschewing U.S. products, down from well over 70% in February.
“But right now, especially around food, we’re seeing alignment between philosophies, especially within the U.S. state officials and also the Mexican government,” he continues. “And we’re very hopeful that as we move forward, we’re going to see a strategy and clarity around the trade discussion within USMCA and hopefully build on that so that Canadians will be buying strawberries and citrus out of the U.S. and happily consuming them.”
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