The United States Did Not Withdraw from the USMCA; They Reported an Intention Not to Renew Under Current Terms: Ebrard

ByDarren García

This article by Darren García originally appeared in the July 1, 2026 edition of Contralínea, Mexico’s premier investigative journalism magazine.

The United States, through its ambassador Jamison Greer, did not at any point report its intention to withdraw from the free trade agreement it holds together with Mexico and Canada (USMCA), Economy Secretary Marcelo Ebrard Casaubón stated.

What did happen in the meeting held today among the three nations that make it up was that the US side refused to extend the term of the USMCA, currently set until 2036, the Mexican official detailed at a press conference.

Because of this decision, a process stipulated in the document itself begins, which states that, should there be no intention of an extension by any of the parties, then reviews of it will begin every year. In Ebrard Casaubón’s words, the United States’ decision did not surprise them, since its government has made its discontent with the content explicit on different occasions.

In turn, the secretary calmed the mood around the versions that have circulated about this decision. He specified: “the United States’ response does not change anything about how the Treaty has worked so far. There would be no modification and trade will continue the same for the next 10 years.”

At the meeting, both countries also discussed the previously scheduled meetings to follow up on the review of the trilateral agreement. It will be next July 20 when they receive the US delegation.

On this specific point, the secretary indicated that progress has been made bilaterally on the agreements, since in 2025 there were 54 topics that the United States requested to review, which dropped to 14 for 2026. For its part, Mexico has put forward 13 items for discussion.