SAN DIEGO (Border Report) — Mexico’s President Claudia Sheinbaum told reporters during her morning news briefing on Wednesday that her U.S. counterpart, Donald Trump, is open to doing away with the U.S.-Mexico-Canada trade agreement (USMCA) and replace it with individual trade deals with each country.
Right now, the USMCA, provides a free-trade zone in North America with similar rules for all three countries.
The agreement is up for revisal in 2026.
“There might be revisions that create bilateral deals instead of involving the three countries because some things are more important between Mexico and the United Sates or between Canada and the United States,” said Sheinbaum. “Not everything has to be trilateral.”
Mexico’s president said the subject was brought up by Trump during a Tuesday phone conversation.
“USMCA is the law in Canada, United States and Mexico, approved by Congress. If changes need to be made it would require a very deep and thorough revision,” she said.
According to Sheinbaum, her country is ready to consider possible changes.
Trump also discussed the trade agreement with Canada’s Prime Minister Mark Carney during a meeting earlier this week in Washington.
“We can renegotiate, and that would be good, or we can have different accords,” Trump said. “If we want to, we can have different agreements.”
Last month, Sheinbaum and Carney met in Mexico to discuss the USMCA agreement — both agreed the deal needed to be solidified and kept in place.
Mexico’s president said she is open to each country consulting with one another about specific issues that impact their territories.
“There’s about 50 issues the United States has pointed to, considered problems with trade with Mexico. We are trying to clarify those but not necessarily with the vision they want,” she said.
The USMCA went into effect July 1, 2020, replacing the North American Free Trade Agreement known as NAFTA.
It is credited with modernizing rules for the digital economy, strengthening labor and environmental standards, and improving market access for specific products like automobiles and dairy.
Revisions in the pact are expected to include regulations for the use of artificial intelligence while creating more energy cooperation.
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