‘USMCA is law,’ Mexican president says as Trump threatens withdrawal of trade pact

By Jorge Antonio Rocha

MEXICO CITY (AA) – Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum on Wednesday reaffirmed her government’s commitment to the United States–Mexico–Canada Agreement (USMCA), following US President Donald Trump’s remarks suggesting a possible withdrawal from the trade pact.

“USMCA is law in Canada, the United States and Mexico—it was passed by Congress. So, if there were to be any changes, it would require a thorough review,” Sheinbaum said.

Her comments came after Trump met with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney at the White House on Tuesday and hinted at renewing the USMCA or pursuing “different agreements” with each country.

“We could renegotiate it, and that would be good, or we can just do different deals,” Trump said. “We’re allowed to do different deals.”

Sheinbaum said Mexico remained supportive of the accord but noted that some discussions during its review could take place bilaterally rather than trilaterally.

“There could also be bilateral meetings during the USMCA review process—not all discussions need to be trilateral—because there are important matters between Mexico and the United States, between the United States and Canada, and between Canada and Mexico,” she said. “Not everything has to be discussed by all three parties together.”

Sheinbaum said around 50 issues had been identified as “problematic” by the US and Canadian governments, including concerns over Mexico’s labor reform and funding for labor courts. However, the President affirmed that most of these issues have been addressed.

"There are some points being raised that we do not agree with, and those are being reviewed. We're in the process of reviewing them; from our perspective, most of them have already been resolved," Sheinbaum added.