The Washington administration believes that the existence of the trade agreement between Canada, Mexico and the United States (USMCA) is irrelevant to the American side at this stage and does not provide any real benefits, US President Donald Trump told reporters.
“I can do it“, Trump replied when asked if he intended to seek changes to the terms of the agreement. “It expires very soon. And it may be there, it may not be there, it does not matter.“ “I think they want it to be there“, the US president added, referring to Canada and Mexico. “I do not care.“
“I am not even thinking about USMCA“, Trump assured, speaking at an auto plant in Michigan. “I want Canada and Mexico to do well, but the problem is we don't want their products. We don't want cars made in Canada, we don't want cars made in Mexico. We want to make them here in the United States.“ “That's exactly what's happening,“ the head of the administration in Washington believes. “Everybody's moving here: from Canada, from Mexico, from Japan, from Germany, from all over the world. Everybody's coming here and opening their factories.“
According to Trump, the USMCA agreement currently does not provide the United States with “real benefits“. “It doesn't matter to me. Canada would like it; it needs it. “Because we don't need Canadian products“, he added.
The US president also expressed confidence that “China is taking control of the car business in Europe“. “I wouldn't say it's a nice statement, but it's true“, the American leader added. He noted that the US has imposed tariffs of approximately 100% on cars from China.
The USMCA agreement was signed in 2018 at the initiative of Trump, then the 45th US president. He believed that a similar trade agreement NAFTA did not serve the interests of the US. The new agreement entered into force in 2020 and can be reviewed in 2026.