US Blocks Renewal of North American Trade Pact
The United States has declined to approve a 16-year extension of the USMCA trade agreement with Canada and Mexico at the pact’s scheduled joint review, instead triggering annual rolling reviews while it seeks changes. The decision stops short of ending the agreement, but strips away the long-term certainty that manufacturers and farmers on all three sides had built into their planning. Washington wants concessions before it will lock the deal in again.
The USMCA replaced NAFTA in 2020 with a built-in review mechanism designed as a pressure valve — this is the first time it has been pulled as a lever. Rolling annual reviews mean terms could in principle be reopened every year until the pact’s 2036 sunset, a chilling prospect for cross-border investment in carmaking, agriculture and energy. Canada and Mexico must now decide whether to offer concessions or absorb the uncertainty. Watch for retaliatory positioning from Ottawa and Mexico City, and which sectors Washington names in its demands.