Quebec premier says North American free-trade agreement should be reopened now

By The Canadian Press

Quebec Premier François Legault says talks should begin as soon as possible on renegotiating the North American free-trade agreement.

Legault made the comments today in a special statement to the legislature, a day after United States Donald Trump paused for 30 days the implementation of 25 per cent tariffs on Canadian and Mexican goods and services.

“Our productivity, overregulation, bureaucracy, taxation,” he explained. “We’ve done a lot of work on that since 2018, but there’s still a lot of work to do.”

He says the uncertainty that is being created by constant threats of U.S. tariffs is like injecting “poison” into the economy.

“The threat still hangs over our heads like a sword of Damocles (…) Uncertainty is poison for the economy,” said Legault.

If Trump is unhappy with the North American free-trade agreement, then Legault says the U.S., Canada, and Mexico should begin talks immediately instead of waiting for a scheduled review in 2026.

“We have a duty to undertake a major, long-term project to make our economy less dependent on the United States,” said Legault.

“The first thing we have to do in the short term is prepare to help companies get through this, so help on the liquidity side,” he added.

Legault says that in light of Trump’s tariff plans — what the premier says is a “brutal economic attack” — the province must diversify its economy and make it less dependent on the U.S.

“The Quebec people are exporters. And 71 per cent of our exports, for several years now, have gone to the United States,” he said in a rare ministerial statement Tuesday in the Salon rouge.

“We’ve developed expertise in aerospace. We have large aluminum smelters. We have critical minerals. We’re strong in artificial intelligence. We’re strong in computers, electronics and quantum technology. And above all, we have renewable energy.

“We must not forget the best market, the Quebec market. Buying from Quebec is the most effective way to protect our jobs.”

The Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement, signed in 2018 and entered into force in 2020, governs trade across the continent and replaces the original deal that went into effect in 1994.

-With files from La Presse Canadienne translated by CityNews

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