President Donald Trump will likely renegotiate the United States–Mexico–Canada Agreement (USMCA) next year to protect American jobs, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said Sunday.
Lutnick called the move a logical step during an appearance on CBS’ “Face the Nation.”
“It makes perfect sense,” the billionaire businessman said, referring to the trade agreement’s upcoming joint review.
“I think the president is absolutely going to renegotiate USMCA, but that’s a year from today,” Lutnick said, pointing to the scheduled July 2026 review. The review, part of the agreement’s sunset clause, allows the deal to be assessed every six years and sets it to expire after 16 years unless all parties agree to an extension.
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“He wants to protect American jobs,” Lutnick said of Trump. “He doesn’t want cars built in Canada or Mexico when they can be built in Michigan and Ohio. It’s just better for American workers.”
Trump brokered the USMCA with Mexico and Canada during his first term as a replacement for the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), which went into effect in 1994.
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The USMCA requires 75 percent of automobile components to be manufactured in the United States, Canada or Mexico in order to avoid tariffs. It also opened new markets for American wheat, poultry and eggs, among other things.
Lutnick praised Trump’s approach to trade and tariffs, saying the president is “doing it the right way.”
“The president’s got the American workers’ back,” he said. “That’s why they elected him. That’s why the stock market is at all-time highs.”
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