Trump Won't Renew the USMCA He Once Called the Best Deal Ever. Now It's Annual Reviews.

The Trump administration announced on July 1, 2026, that it will not renew the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement for another 16-year term, CNBC reported. Instead of the long-term renewal the treaty offered at its six-year review, the U.S. is opting for yearly reviews. Trump negotiated the USMCA in his first term and once called it “the best agreement we’ve ever made.”

What Actually Changed

The USMCA does not end. Declining the 16-year renewal keeps the deal in force for now, but it flips the treaty into an annual review cycle that runs toward a possible expiration in 2036 if the three countries never agree to extend it.

That is a real shift. A 16-year renewal gives businesses a stable horizon to plan factories, supply chains, and contracts. Yearly reviews replace that with a recurring question mark, and each review is a chance to reopen major parts of the deal.

Why Trump Backed Away

The administration’s stated reason is the U.S. trade deficit with Canada and Mexico. It said it “will continue to engage” with both countries “to address the Agreement’s shortcomings.”

The U.S. and Mexico have already begun bilateral talks that will continue past the July 1 deadline. The U.S. and Canada have not started theirs. Foreign Policy described the pact Trump once championed as a “dead deal walking.”

Why It Matters

More than $1.5 trillion in goods and services move among the three countries each year, and the USMCA is the rulebook for most of it. The auto industry in particular is built around its rules for where parts must be made, and autoworkers already absorbing tariff whiplash now face another layer of uncertainty.

The deeper issue is who decides. The Constitution gives Congress authority over trade, but for years Congress has let presidents set tariffs and trade terms by decree. When one person can renew, review, or unravel a continental trade deal on a deadline, businesses and workers are left guessing, and the branch the Constitution put in charge of commerce is a spectator.

What You Can Do Now

Use the letter below to ask your members of Congress to reclaim their constitutional authority over trade under Article I, so trade deals and tariffs require congressional approval rather than shifting with each executive decision.
Call your senators and representative at (202) 224-3121. Tell them the annual-review approach creates uncertainty for workers and businesses, and you want Congress to weigh in on the terms, not watch from the sidelines.
If you work in autos, agriculture, or manufacturing, tell your representatives specifically how trade uncertainty affects your job or business. Concrete local impact moves members more than abstract trade numbers.