The head of the Ministry of Economy (SE), Marcelo Ebrard, pointed out that Canada remains in the negotiations towards the review of the USMCA, despite the differences with the president of the United States, Donald Trump.
The last friction between the US and Canada took place at the end of October when Trump announced an additional 10% tariff on Canada, in retaliation for a television advertisement promoted by the Government of the province of Ontario that used statements by former US President Ronald Reagan against the tariffs.
“Canada is still present, they even had a meeting at APEC; the prime minister was there, he had a meeting with President Trump, and of course they will be present,” Ebrard said in an interview with the Radio Formula network.
The treaty must be reviewed in 2026, and since Trump’s return to the White House in January of this year, prominent Canadian politicians suggested the idea of abandoning it and negotiating bilaterally with the United States a trade agreement that did not include Mexico, considering that the Latin American country was the source of the region’s economic problems.
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Mexico has an advantage in the USMCA review: Ebrard
Trump himself, in early October, said during a meeting with Carney at the White House that “we could renegotiate it (the USMCA) and that would be good, or we could make different agreements. If we want, we can make different agreements. We can reach individual agreements that are better for the countries.”
Given this, President Claudia Sheinbaum then responded that the trade agreement “is law” in the three nations, so “any change would imply a profound review.”
Regarding how the negotiations with the United States are going, Ebrard said that they are in the final stage and Mexico has an advantageous position, thanks to the fact that “fortunately we have the majority of our exports without tariffs and a series of discounts, especially in the automotive industry, which allow us to say that we are in better circumstances than many of the competing countries.”
Ebrard considered that the “core point” that Mexico wants to achieve “is that the treaty can be reviewed in 2026, reviewing which is not discussing the entire treaty because we would not finish, in addition the US has elections next year and we want Mexico’s position to always be the best in relation to the other competitors, that is our main concern.”
The review of the USMCA is scheduled for 2026, after being announced at the beginning of 2025, in the midst of the global tariff war unleashed by the president of the United States, Donald Trump.
The agreement was signed in 2018 during Trump’s first term and implemented on July 1, 2020 to replace the previous North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).
With information from EFE
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