U.S. Leaders Say They Will Not Renew North American Trade Pact

July 1 was the deadline to formally launch negotiations to update the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), the trilateral pact signed and implemented during President Donald Trump’s first term in office. That day, leaders from the United States, Mexico and Canada met virtually to discuss a path forward, but, according to news reports, they are still far from reaching consensus about how exactly the agreement should be altered.

Additionally, U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer told Bloomberg that the Trump administration would prefer to conduct annual reviews for the USMCA rather than renew the pact wholesale.

The Trump administration was not ready to “rubber stamp” the agreement, Ambassador Greer said, arguing the deal had “substantial issues.”

That position stands in stark contrast to the one put forward by Canadian and Mexican officials. As Connecting the Dots reported early last month, leaders from those countries have said they want to extend the USMCA for 16 years. U.S. officials argued the USCMA has not done enough to stop outsourcing, leading to the growth of U.S. trade deficits with Canada and Mexico.

Despite Ambassador Greer’s comments, the USMCA remains in place for now. As CBC News explained, the agreement does not expire until 2036. Before then, it can only cease to exist if one of the three countries formally withdraws from the deal. Doing so would require six months official notice.