U.S. Declines to Renew the USMCA Trade Pact at Its Six-Year Review

The Trump administration said Wednesday that it will not renew the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement at the pact’s first formal joint review, opting instead for annual reviews and a round of renegotiation. U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer announced the decision after a virtual meeting with Mexico’s economy minister, Marcelo Ebrard, and Canada’s trade minister, Dominic LeBlanc, according to Mexico News Daily.

“The United States did not agree to renew the USMCA in its current form,” Greer said in a statement quoted by the outlet. He added that the agreement “remains in force.” The pact took effect six years ago to the day, replacing NAFTA, and is scheduled to run until 2036. Had all three countries agreed, it would have been extended for 16 years. Mexico and Canada had asked in early June for an extension to 2042, and about a week later President Trump said he was not seeking renewal, Mexico News Daily reported.

An administration official told NBC News the agreement modernized trade but failed to rebalance it, citing U.S. trade deficits with Mexico and Canada that grew under the Biden administration. The deal, the official said, “did not operate to control the deficit like the president intended.” The official also criticized Canada’s decision last year to retaliate against U.S. tariffs, and NBC News reported that the administration has objected to tariff exemptions for USMCA-compliant goods. The official said the White House does not plan to drag talks out for the full 10 years. Trump signed the deal in 2018 and in 2019 called it “the best and most important trade deal ever made by the USA,” NBC News noted.

Greer’s decision does not end the agreement. Withdrawal requires six months’ notice, and Ebrard said no country has signaled it plans to leave, according to Mexico News Daily. Ebrard said there would be no immediate change to the agreement, and he said Greer told him the U.S. was “not in the position” to renew for 16 years, so Mexico will take the annual-review track. A third round of U.S.-Mexico bilateral talks is set for the week of July 20, focused on auto and industrial rules of origin and on economic security, to keep third countries from benefiting from USMCA access, a senior U.S. official told Reuters, as relayed by the outlet.

LeBlanc said Canada is “unwavering” in its support for the pact and noted that it “remains fully in force until 2036,” NBC News and Mexico News Daily reported. NBC News said Washington could end up with separate bilateral agreements with each neighbor.

Business groups urged a quick resolution. The American Automotive Policy Council said U.S. automakers are at a disadvantage against imports from countries facing a flat 15 percent tariff and asked for a swift, durable outcome, NBC News reported. The Business Roundtable said the pact has produced significant economic benefits and urged Washington to strengthen and extend it.

The stakes are large. Mexico News Daily said the agreement governs roughly $2 trillion in trade a year, and that U.S.-Mexico trade was worth $873 billion last year. According to the Brookings Institution, cited by NBC News, trade in goods among the three countries rose from $1.07 trillion in 2020 to more than $1.63 trillion in 2024.