The United States says it will not automatically renew the USMCA trade pact on the deadline for its first mandated review, pushing the agreement into a period of potentially lengthy negotiations.
U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said in a statement Wednesday that the United States would not renew the trade deal that the Trump administration negotiated to replace NAFTA during the president’s first term.
The trilateral agreement won’t immediately expire. Instead, it now moves into a period of regular reviews. The United States and Mexico are set to meet for a third official round of bilateral talks later in July. Canada and the United States, meanwhile, have not begun formal negotiations.
“The United States will continue to engage with Mexico and Canada to address the Agreement’s shortcomings and our trade deficits with these countries,” Greer said in a statement.
Experts warn that perpetual reviews of the trade pact create uncertainty for businesses.
Billions of dollars worth of trade takes place across the Arizona-Mexico border each year. Many of those goods, including tons of fresh produce and manufactured goods, have crossed that border tariff-free under USMCA.
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