Trump says may not renew North America trade pact, paving way for talks

President Donald Trump said Wednesday that he is not seeking a straightforward renewal of the United States’ free trade pact with Mexico and Canada, setting the stage for lengthy negotiations in the coming months.

His comments came as parties to the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) have until July 1 to indicate if they want to extend its terms for another 16 years.

Without a renewal — and unless one party withdraws entirely — the deal will continue to be in effect, subject to rolling annual reviews until 2036.

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“I’m not looking to renew it,” Trump told reporters Wednesday when asked about the July review date.

“We don’t need anything that Canada has, we don’t need anything that Mexico has, but they need everything that we have,” Trump added of his country’s two biggest trading partners in goods.

He said both countries “have to treat us better.”

US government data indicates that goods trade with Mexico and Canada combined amounted to around $1.6 trillion in 2025.

The Trump administration has also exempted USMCA-compliant products from many of his tariffs, helping to keep import costs down.

Earlier this month, Canada and Mexico called for a 16-year renewal of the North American trade pact, despite Trump’s stance on the situation.

US officials have broadly praised Mexico’s approach to trade negotiations while mocking Canada and insulting Prime Minister Mark Carney, who has become one of Trump’s most prominent critics on the global stage.

Nonetheless, US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer has said that he envisions preserving parts of the deal, despite the frictions.

The United States and Mexico wrapped up their initial round of USMCA revision talks in late May, with another round of negotiations due in the US capital next week.

Ottawa’s minister in charge of Canada-US trade, Dominic LeBlanc, has also recently held talks with Greer.

In a letter this month addressed to his counterparts, LeBlanc said the agreement “is highly beneficial to each of our countries.”

But Canada understands the United States and Mexico might want to “propose areas where improvements may be warranted,” he added.

For Ottawa, addressing Trump’s sector-specific tariffs “will be essential,” he said.