U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said Friday that formal negotiations to revise the U.S.-Mexico-Canada trade agreement will begin next week in Mexico City, with a specific focus on sharpening regional rules of origin and strengthening economic security provisions.
Speaking to reporters during a visit to a Micron Technology memory chip plant in suburban Washington, Greer emphasized the need to alter content rules to support efforts to re-shore manufacturing back to the United States. "If youre going to get a special deal on trade with the United States of America, we want to make sure that theres U.S. content in that," she said.
Greer acknowledged that automakers have pushed to retain the USMCA as a trilateral arrangement. Despite those calls, the next round of talks will proceed on a bilateral basis between the U.S. and Mexico and will not include Canada.
Summary of the negotiation agenda
- Location and timing - The opening formal round is set for next week in Mexico City.
- Primary topics - Discussions will concentrate on regional rules of origin and economic security provisions.
- Participants - Next weeks meetings will be held only between the United States and Mexico; Canada will be excluded from this round.
Context from public remarks
At the Micron Technology facility, Greer tied revisions to content rules directly to industrial policy goals, stressing the need for U.S. content to qualify for special trade treatment. Her remarks framed changes to the agreement as a lever to encourage manufacturing activity to return to the United States.
She also noted industry feedback, saying automakers have urged maintaining the three-party nature of the six-year-old USMCA. Despite that input, officials have opted to begin this phase of negotiation without Canada present.
What is clear from Greers comments is the administrations intent to use the USMCA update to make trade incentives contingent on demonstrable U.S. content and to incorporate economic security considerations into the agreements fabric. Beyond that, the public remarks do not expand on specific drafting proposals or timelines for completing negotiations.