Delegations discuss rules of origin, economic security, and agriculture before review begins on July 1.

On Thursday, the United States and Mexico concluded a final round of talks ahead of the formal review of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), which will begin on July 1.

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A Mexican delegation led by Economy Secretary Marcelo Ebrard traveled to Washington to meet with U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer. “Mexico presented its views and its proposals, which will have to be analyzed by our counterpart,” Ebrard said.

The meeting marked the second between the two sides following talks held May 28-29 in Mexico City. During the meeting, the parties discussed issues including rules of origin, economic security, agriculture and the automotive industry.

The Washington meeting took place ahead of a virtual meeting on July 1, when the United States, Mexico and Canada will launch the formal review of the USMCA, which has been in force since 2020.

The three countries must decide whether to extend the agreement under its current terms through 2042 or begin a process of annual reviews that would lead to its expiration in 2036.

Both Mexico and Canada have expressed their willingness to renew the USMCA, while U.S. President Donald Trump has maintained an ambiguous position and has said he would prefer to negotiate bilateral agreements with the two neighboring countries.

On Wednesday, during the G7 summit, Trump said he could sign the renewal of the agreement, although he reiterated his preference for it to cease to exist, arguing that the United States does not need it.

“”I would rather not have the USMCA. The primary reason I wanted it was because there was no way out of NAFTA, which was the worst trade agreement ever made. I would prefer not having an agreement, but I’m open to doing it,” he said.

Mexico’s economy secretary had said that the main area of agreement with Washington is replacing imports from Asia in sectors such as pharmaceuticals, semiconductors and electronics, where Mexico’s and the United States’ dependence exceeds 85%.

On Thursday, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said her administration has put forward several alternatives to eliminate tariffs and stressed that its job is to try to convince Washington “that the best thing for the United States and Mexico is for there to be no tariffs,” while defending the country’s “strong position” in the world’s largest market compared with other economies.

The USMCA, which accounts for about 30% of the global economy, was negotiated during Trump’s first term and took effect in 2020, replacing the North American Free Trade Agreement, or NAFTA, which the Republican president considered harmful to the United States.

teleSUR/ JF

Source: EFE

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