Trump will not renew trilateral trade pact
By: Joey Garrison
USA Today
WASHINGTON - President Donald Trump isn't renewing a trilateral trade pact between the United States, Canada and Mexico that he hailed as a "colossal victory" for American workers when he announce it in 2020 during his first term.
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Facing July 1 [2026] deadline to declare the administration's intentions. U.S. Trade Representative Jamioeson Greer said he informed leaders of Canada and Mexico the United States will not extend the USMCA for an additional 16 year term.
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The decision, which was widely anticipated, does not end the pact immediately but rather kicks off a decade-long annual review process for the three countries to negotiate on the treaty until the USMCA officially expires in 2036.
..... When it was signed by Trump and leaders of Canada and Mexico in 2020, the USA effectively cerated a free trade zone for North American's three largest countries in which certain goods were free from tariffs and other government barriers. The agreement also extended to intellectual property in the countries and digital trade. About 38% of U.S. imports from Canada fall under the USMCA, and about 50% of imports from Mexico.
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Senior Trump administration official, who briefed reporters on the move on the conditions of anonymity, said many components of the USMCA deal have been "superseded" by tariffs that Trump imposed on goods from Mexico and Canada over the past year [2025] in a push to boost U.S. manufacturing.
..... Trump imposed 25% tariffs on imported automobiles from Mexico and Canada,50% on steel and aluminum imports and 10% on lumber. these tariffs aren't among those blocked by a Supreme Court decision in February [2026] that struck down. Trump's sue of presidential emergency powers to impose reciprocal tariffs on countries.
..... Trump called it "a very momentous, historic, and joyous occasion" when he signed the USMCA in 2020 to replace the North American Free Trade agreement, which he blamed repeatedly during his first campaign for depleting America's manufacturing sector.
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"The USMCA is the largest, fairest, most balanced, and modern trade agreement ever achieved," Trump said at A Rose Garden signing ceremony. "There's never been anything like it."
..... Yet the USMCA did not reduce the U.S. trade deficit - and therefore expand the share goods the United States is exporting compared with importing - as Trump intended, administration officials said. Instead, the officials credited Trump's steep tariffs on imports for dropping the trade deficit by about 26% in the past year. [2025]
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The agreement also didn't lead to market opportunities for the United States in Canada and Mexico in dairy and other sectors as was expected, officials said. During two round of USMCA trade talks with Mexico, the United States had demanded that North American-built vehicles contain 50% U.S. content, a move that would push the regional total to 82%.
..... Greer and the Trump administration officials are set to hold a third round of USMCA discussion with Mexico on July 20 [2026] as part of a joint review between the parities
..... Contributing: Reuters