What major trade agreement does Canada belong to?

The Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA), known as USMCA in the United States and T-MEC in Mexico, is Canada's principal trade agreement and entered into force on July 1, 2020. It replaced the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) that had been in effect since January 1, 1994 under Prime Minister Brian Mulroney, U.S. President George H.W. Bush, and Mexican President Carlos Salinas de Gortari.

CUSMA preserves duty-free access for most goods traded among the three countries and updates the agreement to address modern trade issues. New rules tighten the rules of origin for automobiles, requiring 75 per cent North American content (up from 62.5 per cent under NAFTA) and 70 per cent of steel and aluminum to be sourced from North America. A new labour value content rule requires that 40 to 45 per cent of automotive value come from workers earning at least US$16 per hour.

The agreement includes a digital trade chapter prohibiting customs duties on electronic transmissions, an intellectual property chapter extending copyright protection to life plus 70 years, and updated environmental and labour obligations enforceable through state-to-state dispute settlement. Canadian dairy producers under the supply-management system gave up 3.6 per cent of their domestic market to U.S. competitors. The agreement includes a sunset clause: it must be reviewed every six years, with the first joint review scheduled for 2026.

Beyond CUSMA, Canada has 15 free-trade agreements covering 51 countries and more than 60 per cent of the global economy. Major agreements include the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP, ratified 2018), the Canada-European Union Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA, provisionally applied 2017), and bilateral agreements with South Korea (2015), Ukraine (2017, modernised 2024), and the United Kingdom (continuity agreement 2020). Canada is the only G7 country with free-trade agreements with all other G7 members.