The U.S. and Mexico recently held their first formal round of negotiations ahead of a scheduled July 1 trilateral review of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement. The U.S. and Canada have yet to schedule any such talks.
According to the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, U.S. and Mexican negotiators discussed “priority issues related to automotive rules of origin, steel and aluminum, and economic security.” A Reuters article said the U.S. is looking to increase from 75 percent to 82 percent the regional value content requirement for vehicles to qualify for preferential tariff treatment under the USMCA, with 50 percent coming from the U.S. USTR said the two sides also “recognize the importance of advancing cooperation to enhance regulatory compatibility to strengthen sectors, including medical devices, pharmaceuticals, cosmetic products, and others.”
The U.S. and Mexico plan to hold additional negotiating rounds June 16-17 in Washington, D.C., where topics will include agriculture, competition, and rules of origin, and the week of July 20 in Mexico City, which will “focus on resolving outstanding issues in preparation for the joint review.”
The U.S. and Canada have not held any formal negotiations, but Canadian trade minister Dominic LeBlanc said June 2 that he recently had a “positive” meeting with USTR Jamieson Greer and that the two sides have been talking for months. In a June 1 letter to Greer and Mexican economy minister Marcelo Ebrard, LeBlanc said the U.S. Section 232 tariffs are a key issue for Ottawa. He also said Canada recognizes that the U.S. or Mexico “may wish to propose areas where improvements [to the USMCA] may be warranted to strengthen North American competitiveness” and is therefore “willing to consider any proposal that can be beneficial to all three nations’ long-term prosperity.”
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