President Donald Trump said the United States would perform better without the USMCA, the trade agreement governing commerce between the US, Canada, and Mexico. The statement lands just weeks before the pact’s mandatory joint review on July 1, 2026.
Trump went further, claiming the US “doesn’t need anything that Canada has or Mexico has,” a reference to imports including cars, lumber, energy, and dairy products.
What the USMCA actually does
The USMCA replaced NAFTA and came into force on July 1, 2020, covering everything from auto manufacturing to agriculture to digital commerce.
The agreement includes a built-in expiration mechanism. Every six years, the three countries sit down for a joint review. If all parties agree, the deal gets extended for another 16 years. If they don’t, the agreement begins a 10-year wind-down process before it fully expires in 2036.
