Mexico’s president reaffirms commitment to USMCA after Canada, U.S. distance themselves

Mexico’s president is reaffirming her commitment to the free trade agreement that binds her country, Canada and the United States — as those two countries’ leaders suggest possible distance.

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum dismissed the possibility of a breakdown in trade talks Thursday, after Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney gave a speech this week suggesting countries should distance themselves from the United States.

President Donald Trump called the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) trade agreement between the three countries irrelevant this month. It’s the same treaty his own administration negotiated during his first term to replace NAFTA.

Sheinbaum told reporters she believes the treaty remains “convenient” to the three countries.

“We’re going to work so that it doesn’t fall apart,” Sheinbaum said of the treaty.

The treaty is up for a review period this summer, which could turn into a re-negotiation of the agreement that keeps many goods traded between the three countries tariff-free.