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Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said on Tuesday that she was awaiting a response from the United States to extend the North American free trade agreement for 16 years, as her country and Canada have already stated.
The parties to the USMCA treaty have until Wednesday to indicate if they wish to extend it. U.S. President Donald Trump already expressed on June 10 that he is not seeking a simple renewal of the agreement.
A virtual meeting between representatives of the three countries is scheduled for July 1. Participants will include Mexico's Secretary of Economy, Marcelo Ebrard; Jamieson Greer, the United States Trade Representative; and Dominic LeBlanc, the minister responsible for negotiations for Canada.
"That letter must be signed before Wednesday, before tomorrow," Sheinbaum explained in her daily press conference. "I, for example, have already signed what Mexico's position is, which is to extend it for another 16 years; the Canadian Secretary of Economy has done the same, and now we are waiting for the United States' response."
If Washington agrees to an extension until 2042, the agreement will be reviewed in six years; otherwise, it will remain in effect until 2036 with annual reviews, Ebrard explained in a brief video in the afternoon. "There are many who think the United States would prefer to take the second (scenario), but I would not like to speculate."
Sheinbaum reiterated that "the treaty is in the best interest" of the three partners and that "there is optimism" among the negotiating teams, but acknowledged that the extension will depend on Trump.
"We all know that President Trump's position is to raise tariffs on everyone; it is not a secret," she noted.
Sheinbaum expressed confidence in the role played by business leaders in the negotiation, referring to them as "the biggest defenders of the treaty" as they maintain integrated production chains across the three countries.
"Everything we had to do, absolutely everything, has been done" to preserve the treaty, the president added.
Mexico and Canada are among the United States' main trading partners.
Trade between the three countries totaled $1.6 trillion in 2025, according to U.S. government data. However, trade relations have been strained since Trump returned to power and imposed tariffs on his neighbors' products.
[Publicidad]