President Donald Trump said Wednesday that he may not renew the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), citing U.S. trade deficits with Canada and Mexico.
Trump said he negotiated the agreement to replace the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), which he viewed as a flawed trade deal but suggested the United States no longer needs the pact. He added that he remains in discussions with Canadian and Mexican leaders about its future.
“Well, I’m not looking to renew it,” Trump told reporters.
“I made the deal and the primary reason I made the deal is that NAFTA was the worst trade deal I’ve ever seen,” Trump said. “And I made it better. But I had the right to terminate.”
Earlier this month, Canada said it supports extending the agreement for another 16 years ahead of the July 1 review deadline. Under the current terms, the USMCA will expire on July 1, 2036, unless all three countries agree to extend it. If any member declines, the pact will enter annual reviews for the following decade.
Trump said he may not support extending the agreement, arguing that Canada and Mexico benefit more from trade with the United States than the United States benefits from trade with them.
“I don’t know that I’m going to redo it because, to be honest with you, we don’t need anything Canada has, we don’t need anything that Mexico has, but they need everything that we have,” Trump said.
He also pointed to U.S. trade deficits with both countries.
“With Mexico and Canada, we have trade deficits. We should have surpluses with them,” Trump said. “We don’t need their cars. We don’t need their lumber. We don’t need their energy. We don’t need anything.”
In 2020, the USMCA replaced NAFTA after Trump negotiated a new trade agreement with Canada and Mexico. Trump said the deal would benefit American workers, farmers, ranchers, and businesses.
“When I ran for President, I made a solemn promise to the American people that I would end the job-killing failure called the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and replace it with a better deal for our workers, farmers, ranchers, and businesses—the men and women of Main Street who built the most prosperous and equitable economy in human history,” Trump said in 2020.
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