US, Canada and Mexico kick off trade pact consultations
Financial Post | 16 September 2025
US, Canada and Mexico kick off trade pact consultations
by Carolina Pulice, Bloomberg
The US, Canada and Mexico are set to formally begin consultations ahead of the high-stakes review of their regional USMCA trade accord next year, the US and Mexico announced Tuesday.
The consultation process will begin Wednesday.
Mexican Economy Minister Marcelo Ebrard said an evaluation of the trade pact’s results over the past five years will take place between now and the end of the year to prepare for negotiations over a possible extension of the agreement in 2026. He added, in a video posted on X, that guidelines to allow for public comments will be fleshed out in the Mexican government’s official gazette on Wednesday.
The Office of the US Trade Representative, which estimates that the USMCA covers nearly $2 trillion in US goods and services within the region, made a similar announcement in an official notice seeking public comment on the matter.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney last month said his government would also hold industry consultations on the trade agreement this fall, though Canada’s process has not yet formally begun.
Since President Donald Trump took office earlier this year, US trade tensions with both Canada and Mexico have grown as the American leader has embarked on an aggressive series of tariff announcements targeting most foreign imports to the world’s biggest economy.
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The North American trade deal, signed during Trump’s first administration to replace the North America Free Trade Agreement, has become a critical bulwark for both Mexico and Canada. While Trump’s policies have stoked uncertainty across both economies, the US tariffs launched by Trump over the last several months do not currently apply to trade covered by the USMCA.
