Overview
- U.S. negotiators, who continued talks with Mexico on Thursday, have largely cut Canada out of the USMCA review, raising doubts about a three-way path to renewal.
- Under the pact’s six-year review, the three countries must agree by July 1 to extend the deal for 16 years or fall into as many as 10 years of yearly checkups that business groups say would cloud plans.
- U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer told Congress he supports keeping USMCA, pledged a June 1 notification on the administration’s plans, and said talks will likely run past the deadline.
- The White House is leaning on tariff threats and possible changes to rules of origin, while Canada has pushed back after U.S. measures that included an embargo response on American spirits in provincial stores.
- Bipartisan senators urged renewal to protect farm exports, and analysts warned that failure or prolonged uncertainty could disrupt auto and energy supply chains, lift costs for consumers, and slow hiring across North America.