U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday said the ​Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement — the trade pact also known as CUSMA — is not relevant for the U.S., but Canada wants it, as he pushed for companies to bring manufacturing back to American soil.

“There’s no real advantage to it — it’s irrelevant,” Trump said. “Canada would love it. Canada wants it. They need it.”

The Detroit Three automakers are ​heavily reliant on supply chains that include significant parts production in Mexico and Canada, and all three produce hundreds of thousands of vehicles annually ⁠in both countries.

Major automakers last year urged the ‍Trump administration to extend CUSMA, ⁠saying it is crucial to American ​auto production.

The American Automotive Policy Council, representing the Detroit Three automakers, said CUSMA “enables automakers operating in the U.S. to compete globally through regional integration, which delivers efficiency gains” and accounts “for tens ⁠of billions of dollars in annual savings.”

“Our supply chains go all the way through all three countries. It’s not simple. It’s ‍very complex,” Mark Reuss, the president of General Motors, said at an event Tuesday. “The whole North American piece of that is a big strength.”

Trump made the comments as he toured a Ford factory in Dearborn, Mich., ahead of a speech on the economy he is delivering in Detroit.

No need for cars from Canada: Trump

“The problem is ⁠we don’t need their product. You know, we don’t need cars made in Canada. We don’t need cars made ​in Mexico. We want to take them here. And that’s what’s happening,” Trump said.

In November, Stellantis said that under 15 per cent tariffs with Japan, U.S. vehicles complying with North American content ‍rules “will continue to lose market share to Asian imports, to the detriment of American automotive workers.”

Trump administration lays out demands to stay in CUSMA

CUSMA is up for review this ‍year to decide whether ⁠it will be left to expire or another deal will be worked out.

A spokesperson for Canada-U.S. Trade Minister Dominic LeBlanc said that he’ll “soon begin discussions” with his Mexican and U.S. counterparts as part of the joint review of CUSMA.

“In that context, Minister LeBlanc is meeting this week with representatives from key sectors of the Canadian economy, as well as labour unions, to gather their input,” Gabriel Brunet said in an emailed statement on Tuesday evening.

“The interests of Canada’s workers and businesses will always be front and centre in our discussions with our CUSMA partners.”

The trade pact, which replaced the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and was negotiated during Trump’s first term as president, requires the three countries to hold a joint review after six years.

Trump previously called the CUSMA deal “transitional.” And during a meeting with Prime Minister Mark Carney at the White House last year, Trump said the deal may have served its purpose.

U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer has said the Trump administration is considering splitting up the three-way pact and negotiating separate deals with Canada and Mexico.

One observer saw Trump’s latest comments as motivation for Canada to seek to broaden its trading partnerships beyond the U.S. border.

“Nobody can predict what will happen with Trump. Nobody can predict what will happen with the renegotiation of CUSMA,” said Amanda Alvaro, a former Liberal communications strategist, on CBC’s Power & Politics.