I can’t find a date on this release…I just blundered into it on the Global Affairs website. I either missed it from earlier…or it is just out.

Either way, this is so high level that it is not terribly informative. It would be more useful to have a look at some of submissions themselves.

What We Heard – 2025 Public Consultations on the CUSMA Review

From September 20 to November 3, 2025, Global Affairs Canada conducted a second set of public consultations regarding the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA) through a Canada Gazette notice. As in 2024, the process invited interested stakeholders to share their views and experiences with the operation of the CUSMA, as well as ideas for improving the implementation of the Agreement ahead of the 2026 joint review. Feedback was gathered primarily through written submissions, and supplemented by engagement with businesses, industry associations, Indigenous groups, and provinces and territories.

Did you know? The CUSMA joint review is a formal check-in six years after entry into force. It will allow Canada, the United States, and Mexico to assess how the Agreement is working, consider ways to improve it, and decide whether to extend it for another 16 years.

The Government of Canada conducted an initial phase of public consultations through the Canada Gazette from August 17 to October 31, 2024. Through the 137 written submissions received, stakeholders and partners reported that the CUSMA is generally working well and supported a “do no harm” approach to the 2026 joint review. They provided positive feedback about CUSMA’s implementation and operation. They also identified a number of areas where the Agreement could be enhanced while underscoring the need to ensure that outcomes align with Canada’s interests. A report of what we heard through those consultations can be found here. 

Engagement in the 2025 consultations was significantly higher than in 2024. This surge in interest reflects the different international trading environment we currently face, which shaped stakeholder perspectives on the importance of CUSMA in a changing global environment.

Summary of Submissions

The Government of Canada received a significant volume of input from a diverse mix of individuals, businesses, industry associations, provinces and territories, and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) from regions across Canada. In total, we received 5,143 submissions. Contributions were received from 184 businesses, 238 industry associations, councils, and labour unions, 4670 individuals, 10 provinces and territories, 8 public sector organizations, 26 Civil Society, NGOs, and public policy groups, and 7 Indigenous groups.

Figure 1: Summary of submissions

Figure 1

5,143 submissions:

• 184 businesses
• 238 industry associations, councils, and labour unions
• 4670 individuals
• 10 provinces and territories
• 8 public sector
• 26 civil society, NGOs, and policy groups
• 7 Indigenous groups

What We Heard

Through this consultation process, Canadians told us that they are facing significant global and regional pressures. These pressures include new trade barriers, ongoing efforts to enhance supply chain resilience, and rapid developments in the digital economy. Participants emphasized the need to preserve a predictable, tariff-free North American market while modernizing and streamlining rules and procedures and strengthening resilience to geopolitical and other external shocks where possible. Many also advocated for pragmatic trade diversification, expanding Canada’s global ties and domestic capabilities to protect Canada from the risks of relying too heavily on a single market, while maintaining CUSMA as a valuable agreement. We also received feedback on specific matters outside the scope of CUSMA.

Preserving Market Access and Stability

Participants strongly supported preserving tariff‑free, rules‑based market access between Canada, the United States, and Mexico and strengthening measures that deter unilateral tariff actions and other trade-restrictive measures. They emphasized that predictable market access is a precondition for investment across integrated sectors, such as manufacturing, energy, agri‑food, forestry, and information and communications technology (ICT), and warned that unexpected and unpredictable tariff measures raise costs, inflate prices, fragment supply chains, and deter new investment. Stakeholders stressed the need for clear, enforceable protections, including broader explicit safeguards against unilateral tariffs on CUSMA‑originating goods; a timely, transparent dispute settlement process with binding timelines for panel appointments and decisions; and consistent and predictable border operations to support just-in-time logistics and business planning.

Small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) underscored that complicated border procedures disproportionately harm smaller firms and asked for practical relief, including restored de minimis thresholds by the United States or new carve outs for low-value shipments within North America, simpler origin certification processes, and harmonized, consistent procedures across ports of entry. Exporters to the United States of low-value shipments highlighted that even minor variations in documentation standards across ports of entry or variances in how brokers and couriers apply tariff and origin rules can erase profit margins and deter U.S. customers.

In relation to agriculture, participants voiced strong support for maintaining Canada’s supply‑management system for dairy, poultry, and eggs as a pillar of food sovereignty, rural stability, and predictable pricing. They urged the Government of Canada to maintain tariff rate quotas (TRQs) and over‑quota tariffs to keep the domestic market stable and predictable. Some agriculture stakeholders also stressed the importance of science-based cooperation among the Parties to deter mislabelling and the fraudulent classification of select goods, supported by tools such as DNA testing and enhanced origin verification. Participants from the agriculture sector also reiterated the importance of food labelling requirements reflecting the integration of supply chains for the production of livestock and food.

Across submissions, stakeholders consistently cautioned that integrating new or higher tariffs or tighter rules of origin without clear, feasible implementation frameworks would destabilize pricing and planning and undermine integrated supply chains. Many stakeholders underscored the importance of expanding Canada’s trading relationships while maintaining strong North American ties with CUSMA at the centre.

Modernizing Rules and Procedures

Stakeholders noted an interest in modernizing how rules are applied and administered, with a focus on clarity, consistency, and efficiency. Stakeholders repeatedly called for simplified, digitized customs documentation and more uniform treatment across ports of entry to reduce delays and administrative costs. They expressed a desire for plain language guidance on how to claim CUSMA preferential tariff treatment, more predictable documentation requirements, streamlined origin verification, and shared proposals for multi-year supplier declarations and a practical, digital certification of origin system. Stakeholders expressed interest in clear treatment of temporary imports, repairs, and returns to avoid duties on goods re‑imported after service, with more transparent requirements for classification and documentation. In particular, SMEs and secondary manufacturers expressed the importance of ease-of-use in managing and complying with customs requirements.

Beyond customs, respondents emphasized the importance of sanitary and phytosanitary measures being based on science along with identifying concrete opportunities to improve efficiencies in how these measures are applied. Suggestions included adopting risk-based inspections, electronic certification, and “green lanes” at ports of entry for perishable goods to minimize spoilage and ensure timely delivery.

Respondents also support greater alignment of requirements, where feasible, such as harmonized maximum residue limits for plant protection products and alignment of food labelling requirements, and mutual recognition of conformity assessment practices to avoid duplicative testing while maintaining rigorous safety standards. SMEs expressed an interest in solutions for low‑risk, small‑lot shipments, including trusted‑exporter concepts and batch e‑certification windows, to make compliance requirements proportionate to risk and transaction value without compromising plant‑health safeguards.

In the innovation and digital sphere, participants urged Canada to preserve cross‑border data flows and interoperability while strengthening cybersecurity and pragmatic AI governance, and to address consumer‑facing issues like geo‑blocking of legitimately purchased content. They expressed interest in ensuring that the Agreement keeps pace with technological developments in the North American knowledge economy. Creative‑industry stakeholders encouraged preserving and modernizing the cultural exemption for the digital era to reflect evolving distribution and discoverability. On patents and pharmaceutical intellectual property, some stakeholders encouraged strengthened protections, while other stakeholders highlighted the implications of new rules in these areas for the affordability and accessibility of medicines.

Across submissions, the common suggestion was a more consistent, user-friendly operating environment that reduces unnecessary barriers, improves predictability, and upholds high standards.

Strengthening Trilateral Value Chains

Stakeholders focused on the importance of safeguarding and deepening integrated North American value chains. Stakeholders strongly urged that any changes to CUSMA rules of origin (ROO) be practical and reflective of how goods are actually made in the North American production ecosystem. They cautioned against changes that would unintentionally penalize SMEs or niche manufacturers that rely on globally sourced components. Many recommended modernizing ROO to recognize recycling and refining, refurbishment, and remanufacturing as qualifying transformations, supporting circularity and modern production realities especially in clean technology supply chains where recycled or reengineered inputs are increasingly important.

Participants underscored the need to maintain tariff-free treatment for critical inputs and intermediate goods and proposed shared traceability and certification systems to verify origin and environmental compliance, deter circumvention, and increase confidence in sourcing. Electronics and ICT manufacturers emphasized that ROO must accommodate embedded microelectronics and partially assembled goods, recognizing that many components have no North American substitutes and that final assembly and testing in Canada should continue to confer originating status under clear, workable rules.

Stakeholders also highlighted the importance of not constricting existing temporary entry provisions for businesspersons and professionals. Mobility enables installation, maintenance, and service across integrated operations, and stakeholders asked for more consistent treatment across ports of entry, the modernization of the existing list of covered professionals to reflect digital and clean‑tech professions and trusted‑traveller concepts for vetted professionals engaged in short‑term cross‑border work.

Finally, respondents supported stronger enforcement tools, including targeted anti‑circumvention measures, effective origin‑verification mechanisms, and time‑bound dispute processes, to keep cross‑border operations on a stable footing and reinforce investment confidence across North American value chains.

Overall, participants reaffirmed broad support for a stable, rules‑based North American trading environment and identified opportunities to improve how CUSMA operates. They emphasized preserving predictable, tariff‑free market access as a top priority while seeking to enhance clarity, consistency, and efficiency across the border, and strengthening Canada’s resilience in the face of global economic uncertainty. These insights will inform Canada’s preparations for the 2026 joint review and our broader North American trade priorities. As we move forward with the joint review, we are committed to continued collaboration with businesses, industry associations, provinces and territories, and non-governmental organisations from regions across Canada, Civil Society Organizations (CSOs), labour, and Indigenous groups across Canada.

Contact information

We thank everyone who participated in the consultations.

Global Affairs Canada is committed to continuing to hear the views of partners, stakeholders, and interested Canadians on the operation of the CUSMA. You are welcome to share your feedback regarding the CUSMA with Global Affairs Canada at any time, using the contact information below.

Trade Policy and Negotiations – North America
CUSMA Consultations, Global Affairs Canada
John G. Diefenbaker Building
111 Sussex Drive
Ottawa, Ontario  K1N 1J1
Email: CUSMA-Consultations-ACEUM@international.gc.ca

Source: Global Affairs Canada