Trump says US will not seek USMCA renewal

President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that he is not seeking to renew the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, casting uncertainty over the future of the continental trade pact just weeks before a key deadline. The president made the remarks to reporters at the White House, stating the United States does not need goods from its neighbors.

The three countries face a July 1 deadline to decide whether to extend the USMCA, which Trump negotiated during his first term to replace the North American Free Trade Agreement, for another 16 years. If the deadline passes without a renewal, the agreement will remain in force but will be subject to annual reviews until 2036. Any country can also choose to withdraw from the pact entirely with six months' notice.

Trump criticized the original NAFTA as the worst trade deal he had ever seen and expressed dissatisfaction with the current agreement. He stated that the United States has trade deficits with Canada and Mexico and claimed the U.S. does not need their cars, lumber, or energy. He asserted that both countries need American goods more than the U.S. needs theirs and said they must treat the United States better.