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Public hearings are underway in Washington this week as part of the mandatory review of the U.S.–Mexico–Canada Agreement, better known as USMCA. But this year, it’s drawing a lot of attention.
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative says it has already received more than 1,500 public comment briefs, an amount that officials describe as “significant” compared to past trade reviews. Julian Karaguesian, an economics professor at McGill University specializing in international trade analysis, says the existing USMCA agreement seems to have widespread support, based on those comment briefs.
“The overwhelming majority are in favor of maintaining free trade within North America. One of the biggest, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, were careful to point out that they have companies in every state of the union and millions of jobs from the specialization that trade allows. Ford mentioned that 80 percent of their vehicles are assembled in the United States from supply-chain integration. The Whiskey association. The Sunflower association. There are so many different submissions.”
Since taking effect in 2020, USMCA has been critical for U.S. farmers. Canada and Mexico remain the top two export markets for American corn, soybeans, dairy, and pork.
One major concern stems from all the talk out of the White House that any new arrangement would divide the existing USMCA into two separate agreements. A move that Karaguesian believes would put more strain on the U.S., especially the farming states.
“This current Administration prefers divide and rule, which would be two bi-lateral agreements, one with Canada, one with Mexico. But these Associations and these big businesses that are American, they’re saying this might not be the right way to do that. Manufacturing jobs are in their ninth month of decline. The farming states of the Midwest are hurting. If the Trump administration can be convinced to renew, I think they’re going to try and extract the most concessions possible and maintain sectoral tariffs.”
The review process is expected to continue into next year, but farm organizations say the message this week is clear: USMCA has delivered major wins for agriculture and preserving it is vital for America’s farmers and ranchers.