U.S. begins USMCA talks with Mexico, leaves Canada out initially

The United States is starting its next round of USMCA negotiations with Mexico alone, a move that could unsettle the North American supply-chain logic that binds autos, agriculture and manufacturing across three economies. The Trump administration’s trade office said the first of three negotiating rounds will begin in Mexico City with no mention of Canada, signaling that Washington is treating the review less as a trilateral reset than as a bilateral test of its immediate priorities with Mexico.

Deputy U.S. Trade Representative Jeffrey Goettman will lead the U.S. delegation on May 28 and 29 in Mexico City. The first round will focus on economic security and rules of origin for key industrial goods, issues that go straight to how companies source parts, assemble vehicles and qualify products for preferential treatment under the pact. The second round is set for June 16 and 17 in Washington, D.C., and will cover agriculture and what the U.S. side calls a level playing field. A third round is scheduled for the week of July 20 in Mexico City.

The language from the U.S. Trade Representative’s office shows the administration wants the agreement measured by domestic economic payoff. It said the talks are meant to ensure that USMCA benefits U.S. manufacturers, farmers, ranchers, workers, service suppliers and small and medium-sized businesses. That framing matters because the rules-of-origin fight is likely to determine how much content in autos, electronics and machinery must be produced in North America before products can enter the U.S. market without penalties.

Canada’s absence from the opening notice is strategic even if it is not final. The original Trump administration negotiated NAFTA’s replacement with Mexico and Canada together, but this round begins without a formal Ottawa launch, even as U.S.-Canada trade tensions remain unresolved. U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said on Tuesday that the two sides still have significant differences. Mexico’s Economy Minister Marcelo Ebrard and Greer had already launched bilateral review discussions in March 2026, so the Mexico-first track did not emerge overnight.

The stakes rise further on July 1, when the formal USMCA joint review is scheduled under Article 34.7. If the parties do not agree to extend the agreement at that review, annual reviews would continue until 2036. USTR opened public consultations in September 2025 and scheduled a hearing for November 17, while Canada and Mexico also launched their own consultation processes. Businesses across North America now face a review that could shape tariff exposure, sourcing decisions and investment plans well before the next election cycle.