The numbers speak for themselves. CUSMA, that market, represents 506 million consumers and a combined GDP of $42 trillion. Trilateral merchandise trade between our three countries reached $1.9 trillion in 2023. That's a 3.5% increase over 2022, but nearly a fivefold increase since 1993. The result is one of the most unique and successful trading blocs in the world, one that has benefited Canadian exporters, businesses, innovators, producers and workers, and the communities across Canada from coast to coast to coast that are supported by trade. It's why our government fought so hard for CUSMA.

Despite the short-sighted pleas from the opposition to capitulate to the White House, we stood firm and we delivered an ambitious and progressive agreement that will benefit Canadians. We stood up for Canada when others told us not to bother.

Earlier this year, the Prime Minister announced that the minister of industry and I would spearhead a team Canada engagement strategy to reinforce the value of this trade agreement and what it brings. In my discussions with businesses and workers across Canada and throughout North America, one message stands out: our trade relationship is not just a special one, it is an essential one. We must do everything we can to preserve, to strengthen and to deepen it.

Quite simply, CUSMA provides certainty and stability, an increasingly rare and important asset in the face of global uncertainty. The international community is still coming to terms with the realization that global supply chains are more fragile today. To strengthen our supply chains and make them more resilient in the face of future global shocks, we must work closely with our allies and with our neighbours.

Last month, I joined the U.S. Trade Representative and the Mexican Secretary of Economy in Phoenix for the fourth CUSMA Free Trade Commission meeting. These meetings are a recognition that this complex and ever-evolving trading relationship requires maintenance. This year, we agreed to strengthen our joint preparedness to address emergency situations, ensuring free trade can remain a source of predictability and resiliency. We also agreed to strengthen trilateral co-operation, including the integration of small and medium-sized businesses into supply chains, bolstering North American competitiveness and increasing opportunities for our workers. We agreed to jointly collaborate on issues related to non-market policies and practices that could undermine CUSMA and harm our workers. Perhaps most importantly, we agreed that CUSMA is a high-standard ambitious agreement that creates new opportunities for all.

However, to ensure that CUSMA remains the gold standard agreement, it contains a requirement to review its operations. The 2026 review will allow us to ensure CUSMA remains effective and responsive to the current economic conditions. This joint review process is not a renegotiation, but rather it's a focused checkpoint to ensure that CUSMA remains relevant and continues to strengthen our region's competitiveness and resilience, all while serving Canada's interests. This type of co-operation is made easier by the fact that our countries enjoy shared values and a shared respect for the rules-based international order, including high environmental and labour standards.

A shining example of this is the auto sector. From Oshawa to Oakville to St. Thomas to Windsor, we know Canada's auto sector has long been a global leader. We also know that the auto sector is undergoing a profound transformation. Blessed with a tremendously talented workforce and people, a reliable and clean energy grid, access to critical minerals and a deep integration with the American and Mexican markets, our focus is to produce electric vehicles and their components right here in Canada. It's why we're building Canada's comprehensive EV supply chain and creating thousands of good-paying jobs.

Ultimately, this review process is an opportunity to ensure that CUSMA remains up to date and adaptable. Since CUSMA was ratified, we've grappled with a global pandemic, Russia's illegal invasion of Ukraine and other geopolitical shocks. The stability provided by CUSMA is more crucial than ever. Quite simply, our economic interests, our trade interests, our national interests and our national security are inextricably linked, and CUSMA mutually reinforces each and every one of them.

I look forward to this review process and to ensuring that the agreement and its implementation continues to proceed well, and that trilateral co-operation remains strong.

Thank you very much, Madam Chair, and I look forward to taking questions from the committee.

Mary Ng

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