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Mexico has launched the first formal round of negotiations toward a joint revision of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, the Mexican Ministry of Economy announced Wednesday, with Canada also taking part in the process, even as the talks unfold under the shadow of sustained tariff pressure from the Trump administration.
The ministry described the session as "the first formal round of negotiations in preparation for the joint revision of the treaty," signaling that all three North American partners are now engaged in the process, though the path ahead remains fraught.
The USMCA, which replaced the North American Free Trade Agreement in 2020, includes a built-in requirement for a formal six-year review.
Under the agreement's terms, the three governments must, by July 1, 2026, either reaffirm the deal for another 16 years, extending it to 2042, or risk triggering a decade-long annual renewal cycle that would keep the treaty in perpetual uncertainty until its expiration in 2036.
What was widely expected to be a routine review has instead become a high-stakes negotiation shaped by the Trump administration's aggressive use of tariffs and its broader demands on both neighbors.
The Trump administration has subjected a wide range of Mexican and Canadian goods to new duties since early 2025, citing import pressures and demanding concessions on issues ranging from trade deficits to border security and drug trafficking.
While many of those tariffs were subsequently rolled back, partly in response to a Supreme Court ruling limiting presidential tariff authority under emergency trade powers, the moves have deeply unsettled the spirit of North American integration that USMCA was meant to institutionalize.
U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer and Mexican Economy Secretary Marcelo Ebrard had previously announced the launch of the bilateral review process in March. Negotiators were directed to focus preliminary work on reducing dependence on imports from outside the region, tightening rules of origin, and strengthening North American supply chain resilience.
Canada's inclusion in Wednesday's round is notable. Earlier bilateral talks between Washington and Mexico City had proceeded without Ottawa, with separate U.S.-Canada discussions apparently running on a parallel track.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has been seeking to address tariff relief and security concerns alongside, and ahead of, any formal USMCA renegotiation, describing the strain on continental relations as a "rupture."
Mexico's business community, following consultations across all 32 states and involving hundreds of companies and associations, has backed continuity of the agreement and called for the review to focus on improving implementation rather than reopening its core chapters, according to the Ministry of Economy.
Mexico's President Claudia Sheinbaum has placed the defense and strengthening of the USMCA at the center of her government's trade agenda since taking office in October 2024.
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