Public hearings began in Washington, D.C., as part of the mandatory USMCA review process. Over 1,500 public comment-briefs have been submitted to the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative. Briefs were submitted by manufacturing, industrial, and retail sectors expressing their views of the existing pact. There are calls for amendments to the existing USMCA from some, but Julian Karaguesian, an economics professor at McGill University specializing in international trade analysis, said the existing USMCA agreement seems to have widespread support based on those comments.
American industry groups are largely making the case that Canadian and Mexican suppliers are integral to their operations, and that the two neighboring markets are important to the success of their export businesses. The American Automotive Policy Council, speaking collectively for Ford, GM, and Stellantis, says the USMCA is ‘the most important trade agreement for its industry members’, enabling billions of dollars in annual savings through its supply chain integration. The National Association of Home Builders, representing 140,000 members in the residential construction industry, is calling on the Trump administration to scrap all tariffs on building material imported from Canada and Mexico — including Canadian softwood lumber, which it says ‘fills a unique niche in residential construction that is not easily replaced with domestic sources.’
There seem to be broad concerns about how the Trump administration will approach next year’s negotiations. Karaguesian said that a common theme is that trade-related industries want to keep the three-way partnership.
Next year’s USMCA review could result in anything from a deal extending the agreement for up to 16 years, or to a hard-headed renegotiation of its key terms, or even one of the countries giving six months’ notice that it’s withdrawing entirely.
