US Trade Representative Cites Access to Canadian Dairy and Alcohol Markets as Conditions for USMCA Renewal

 

U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer speaks during a media conference in Brussels, Belgium, on Nov. 24, 2025. AP Photo/Omar Havana

Top U.S. trade negotiator Jamieson Greer said Canada must change a number of its policies including in the dairy sector if it wants the United States to commit to a long-term renewal of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA).

In a portion of his closed-door remarks to members of Congress that were released to the public Dec. 17, Greer said that a “rubberstamp” of USMCA at next year’s July 1 joint review is not in the American “national interest” unless Canada changes its dairy supply management system, digital streaming rules, and provincial import bans on U.S. alcohol.

Greer also outlined U.S. requests that Mexico do more to enforce labour standards, give U.S. energy firms more access to bid on contracts instead of favouring state-run firms, and stop the flow of Chinese-made products from entering the United States.

Greer said the trade deal has grown American exports to Mexico and Canada by 56 percent since 2020 but that significant sticking points remain from Washington’s perspective.

“The USMCA has been successful to a certain degree,” Greer said in remarks released Dec. 17. “But at the same time, it is clear that we have not achieved all of our goals with respect to strengthening U.S. manufacturing capacity and creating good jobs, and nearly all stakeholders advocate improvements.”

Review Process

The tripartite trade agreement was signed in November 2018 for a term of 16 years, and comes up for its first joint review on July 1 of next year.

During each six-year review, the three nations have the option to renew for an additional 16-year term. Greer said if U.S. demands on Canada and Mexico are not met, the Trump administration may choose to approve the agreement on a year-by-year basis, rather than agreeing to a 16-year renewal.

Greer, who serves as the chief trade negotiator for the Trump administration as the U.S. Trade Representative, added that he’s open to negotiating the outstanding matters with Mexico and Canada in a bilateral or trilateral setting.

Dairy

Canada’s dairy supply management policy sets quotas for the production of dairy products, eggs, and poultry in order to prevent a glut in the market.

The policy also applies considerable tariffs and tariff-rate quotas on foreign eggs, milk, and poultry in order to shield domestic producers from foreign competition.

Greer said Canada’s rules “unfairly restrict market access for U.S. dairy products,” and go against the free-trade provisions of the USMCA.

Although he didn’t call for ending supply management altogether, Greer said that Canada must grow its “market access for U.S. dairy products” and stop exporting cheap Canadian dairy products if Ottawa wants the United States to renew the trade agreement.

Prime Minister Mark Carney said in April that Canada’s supply management is not negotiable.

“Supply management is part of our economic sovereignty. When it comes to negotiations with President Trump, it’s off the table,” he said.

Digital Regulations

Greer said Canadian digital regulations are another major impediment to renewing the USMCA. Canada pledged to rescind its Digital Services Tax (DST) this past June after U.S. President Donald Trump cited it in pausing trade talks at the time. The tax, which went into effect in June 2024, applied a 3 percent levy on revenue from large digital companies, which the Trump administration said unfairly impacted the earnings of large American companies such as Google, Meta, and Amazon.

Greer said Dec. 17 that while the lifting of the DST was a step forward, Canada’s Online Streaming Act and Online News Act continue to be roadblocks for Washington renewing the USMCA. The Online Streaming Act requires large streaming services like Netflix and Spotify to promote, fund, and platform Canadian content.

The Online News Act requires tech companies to pay back profits to Canadian news companies when the news outlets’ content earns revenue on the tech companies’ platforms such as Meta. The law has led to platforms such as Meta banning Canadian news from being shared on their platform, so they don’t have to pay publishers.

Greer says both laws go against the rules of the USMCA.

“We have succeeded in getting Canada to meaningfully address some of them, including its Digital Services Tax, which would have cost American digital companies billions in tax payments to Canada,” Greer said. He added that “Canada insists on maintaining its Online Streaming Act, a law that discriminates against U.S. tech and media firms, as well as a number of other measures that restrict digital services trade.”

Ottawa says the laws are needed to ensure fairness to publishers and to support Canadian content.

“If you benefit from the system, you should contribute to it. With the Online Streaming Act, we’re acting to support our creators, our artists, our independent producers and our culture so that they thrive in the digital age,” then-Minister of Canadian Heritage Pablo Rodriguez said in 2023.

US Alcohol

A number of Canadian provinces stopped selling U.S. alcohol products this past March due to ongoing U.S. tariffs, although Alberta and Saskatchewan have removed their bans on U.S. alcohol.

Greer said the provincial decisions violate the heart of the USMCA, and various procurement policies in Quebec, B.C., and Ontario limit market access to U.S. suppliers, citing concerns with Canadian customs registration processes. Greer said all these matters must be satisfactorily addressed before the United States agrees to renew the USMCA to a full term.

Ontario Premier Doug Ford has said the ban on U.S. alcohol in his province will remain until the United States removes its tariffs on Canada.

“It’s still going to be banned until they cut the tariffs or we make a deal with them. It’s not coming on our shelves,” Ford said in August.

Ottawa’s View

Greer’s comments come in the wake of his previous statements Dec. 10 in which he said the United States is open to negotiating separate bilateral deals with Canada and Mexico instead of recommitting to the USMCA. Greer said exiting the USMCA entirely was one option being considered.

Carney responded to these comments by denying that the United States might leave the trade pact.

“That’s not what they’re saying,” he told media Dec. 11.

Minister Responsible for Canada-U.S. Relations Dominic LeBlanc also said Dec. 11 that he does not expect Washington to leave the USMCA and added that his view is also shared by Mexico.

The United States has applied a 35 percent tariff on all Canadian goods exported to the United States that are not covered under the USMCA, in addition to sectoral duties and tariffs on autos, steel, aluminum, copper, and softwood lumber.

Carney has repeatedly praised the USMCA as a favourable deal for Canada, saying that around 85 percent of Canadian goods exported to the United States remain tariff-free under the deal.

However in a meeting with Trump this past May at the White House, Carney also said there are aspects of the USMCA that will “have to change.”

“Some things about it are going to have to change, and part of the way you’ve conducted these tariffs have taken advantage of existing aspects of the USMCA, so it’s going to have to change,” Carney said.

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