What Trump’s pledge to redo his own trade agreement with Canada and Mexico could mean

President-elect Donald Trump’s frequent calls for new tariffs on foreign goods may have overshadowed another massive trade-related pledge he made about a month before the November election: renegotiate the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement.

President-elect Donald Trump’s frequent calls for new tariffs on foreign goods may have overshadowed another massive trade-related pledge he made about a month before the November election: renegotiate the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement. Known as the USMCA, the trade deal was negotiated by the first Trump administration and replaced the quarter-century-old North American Free Trade Agreement, or NAFTA, in 2020. A review of the trade pact was expected in 2026 regardless of Trump’s pledge, due to a requirement in the agreement. But Trump’s proclamation has put Canada and Mexico – the US’ two biggest trading partners – on notice that he may pursue major changes. And the renegotiation could play a major role in the president-elect’s other policy priorities like national security, immigration and crime. While the USMCA may not directly deal with those issues, the trade pact could be used as leverage. “It’s a very functional tool for Trump to achieve whatever it is he’s hoping to achieve by negotiating,” said Francisco Sanchez, who served as undersecretary of commerce for international trade under then-President Barack Obama and is currently a partner at the law firm Holland & Knight. “The fact that there is a mechanism in place to discuss a review is, I think, to his advantage,” he said.