- Oct 17, 2011
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Trump refuses to renew USMCA trade pact, toppling one of the last pillars of stability in global trade
The decision was a stark reversal for President Donald Trump, who signed the USMCA in 2018 and called it “the best and most important trade deal ever.”Six years to the day after the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement on trade entered into force, the Trump administration announced Wednesday that it plans to pull the plug on a deal widely viewed as a successful and stabilizing force across North America’s three largest economies.
The move, which had been telegraphed by the administration for several months, nonetheless represented a stark reversal for President Donald Trump, who negotiated and signed the USMCA deal in 2018 after he pulled out of the North American Free Trade Agreement.
From the beginning of his second term, Trump has made sweeping global tariffs the centerpieces of his economic policy. Against this backdrop, the president and his aides have repeatedly taken issue the tariff exemptions on USMCA-compliant goods that are at the heart of the deal.
But there were also hints on Wednesday of the more targeted animosity that has been growing between Washington and Ottawa in Trump’s second term.
Specifically, the senior official took issue with Canada’s decision last year to retaliate against Trump’s tariffs.
[As a bargaining chip, perhaps Canada should seize the St. Lawrence seaway.]
