Canadian Trucking Alliance (CTA) president, Stephen Laskowski, and Director of Policy and Industry Awareness Programs, Lak Shoan, appeared before the House of Commons Standing Committee on International Trade earlier this week, as the Government of Canada begins its initial consultations in advance of the review of the Canada-U.S.-Mexico (CUSMA) Trade Agreement in 2026.
CTA’s overarching message during the meeting was that our sector is critical to Canada-U.S. goods movement, and that industry and government must begin working immediately to develop our strategy and arguments to make improvements to CUSMA in advance of the 2026 CUSMA review period.
“Trucking companies haul most of the value of trade across our borders, which has benefited the North American supply chain, moving everything from autos to agriculture to pharmaceuticals,” said Laskowski. “If we want to grow trade between our respective countries, we will need to work with all three governments to ensure that transportation and trucking related policies do not impede the flow of goods which CUSMA was designed to address. In short, if the freight can’t move efficiently, the value of CUSMA is significantly reduced.”
CTA outlined several items that our industry and government must continue to work on and potentially address through CUSMA that will reduce truck transportation related inefficiencies and improve the flow of international commerce.
These items included long-standing issues pertaining to the repositioning of foreign empty trailers and allowing U.S. in-transit movements, but also additional items which must be reviewed for potential inclusion in a revised agreement:
- Canada/U.S. tax treaty matters
- U.S. legal system threats to international trade/transportation
- Border inspection programs/processes
- The rising threat of international cargo fraud and theft
- Road transportation and trade with Mexico.
“There are multiple technical and legal issues associated with these matters that must continue to be explored in advance of the review period,” said CTA’s Lak Shoan. “Although CTA is committed to resolving these issues prior to 2026, the CUSMA review offers another potential alternative to resolve these matters to the benefit of the trucking sector and the North American supply chain,” added Shoan.
CTA will be working with its board and members in the coming months on developing a strategy and list of additional items to be raised for inclusion under CUSMA in 2026.