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USMCA review seen as key opportunity to strengthen North American trade

Some experts says the upcoming review of the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement is an opportunity to strengthen the agreement.

Ted McKinney, CEO of the National Association of State Departments of Agriculture, and former under secretary of agriculture for trade and foreign agricultural affairs, says the USMCA is the best free trade agreement in the world. “Bar none,” he says.  “It includes biotech, which no others have.  It is the model and we must keep it.”

Mexico’s former trade negotiator Kenneth Smith Ramos says one headwind will be the current trade and tariff environment.  “In order to have a positive review, and a vision of the USMCA based on free trade, we should really eliminate the tariffs that are in place right now,” he says.  “Trade between Mexico, Canada, and the US should remain free because it strengthens all three economies.”

John Masswohl, director emeritus with the Canadian Cattle Association says the review is headed in the right direction.  “It’s good to see that President Trump wants to expedite these things a little bit,” he says.  “Let’s get back to the table and if there are things that aren’t working for one side or the other, let’s look at them and see what we can improve.

The USMCA will expire in 2036 and the scheduled review is set to begin July 1, 2026.