Following a meeting this week, representatives for the United States and Mexico reported “substantial progress” in their talks about bilateral trade relations and the upcoming joint review of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Free Trade Agreement (USMCA).
A statement issued January 28 reported that Ambassador Jamieson Greer, the U.S. Trade Representative, met that day with Mexican Secretary of Economy Marcelo Ebrard.
In addition to recognizing the substantial progress in recent months, both sides agreed to continue “intensive engagement to address non-tariff barriers,” according to the statement.
In addition, they agreed to begin formal discussions on “possible structural and strategic reforms” in the first USMCA joint review.
The reforms, the meeting readout said, are to include “stronger rules of origin for key industrial goods, enhanced collaboration on critical minerals, and increased external trade policy alignment to defend workers and producers in the United States and Mexico and to combat the relentless dumping of manufactured goods in our region.”
CalChamber Comments
The California Chamber of Commerce submitted public comments at the beginning of November 2025 as the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) began its public consultation process in advance of the Joint Review of the Agreement between the United States of America, the United Mexican States, and Canada on July 1, 2026.
Since the early 1990’s, the CalChamber has supported the concept and establishment of a North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) based upon an assessment that it serves the employment, trading and environmental interests of California and the United States, as well as Canada and Mexico, and is beneficial to the business community and society as a whole.
That support continued during the first President Trump administration when the United States, Mexico and Canada reached an agreement to modernize the 25-year-old NAFTA into a 21st century, high-standard agreement.
The CalChamber continues to believe the USMCA supports mutually beneficial trade leading to freer markets, fairer trade, and robust economic growth in North America.
Now as all three countries have begun to organize for the six-year USMCA review in July 2026, the CalChamber continues to support the objectives of the USMCA to eliminate barriers to trade, promote conditions of fair competition, increase investment opportunities, provide adequate protection of intellectual property rights, establish effective procedures for implementing and applying the agreements and resolving disputes, and to further trilateral, regional and multilateral cooperation.
The process, beginning in year six of the pact that entered into force on July1, 2020, allows each country to either confirm its desire to extend the agreement or raise concerns that it wants to address.
In the latter scenario, the three countries will continue to review the agreement every year until either the concerns are resolved, or the pact is terminated in year 16. Considering California’s position as a global leader in international trade, the USMCA priorities are important to CalChamber members and the overall economic health of the state.
Coalition Letter
On December 1, 2025, the CalChamber joined the U.S. Chamber and more than 500 business and agricultural organizations and chambers of commerce from across the United States in a coalition letter conveying to USTR Ambassador Greer their continuing support of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement.
USMCA Statistics
The United States, Canada and Mexico comprise more than 520 million people (6.3% of the world’s population), more than $33 trillion in gross domestic product (GDP) (nearly 30% of world GDP), and $1.8 trillion in goods and services trade (5.5% of $33 trillion in total global trade).
More than 13 million American jobs depend on trade with Mexico and Canada. The USMCA provides duty-free access for nearly all goods traded among the three countries.
The importance of total U.S.-USMCA goods trade at $1.601 trillion cannot be overstated. The $683.94 billion in exports to Mexico and Canada include transportation equipment ($116.69 billion), computer and electronic products ($80.47 billion), chemicals ($69.03 billion), non-electrical machinery ($63.99 billion), and petroleum and coal products ($49.06 billion).
Total U.S. imports from Mexico and Canada of $917.41 billion include transportation equipment ($238.95 billion), oil and gas ($117.91 billion), computer and electronic products ($104.75 billion), electrical equipment, appliances and components ($54.13 billion), and non-electrical machinery ($52.51 billion).
CalChamber Position
The original key provisions of the USMCA — including focus on rules of origin, goods market access, intellectual property modernization, ease of customs and trade rules for small business, greater market access for American agriculture, strong disciplines on digital trade, and enforceable labor standards — are as important to the agreement today as they were when first implemented. Through all these provisions should run the continued theme of compliance and enforcement.
The CalChamber urges the Trump administration to continue to engage with Mexico and Canada and swiftly extend the USMCA. In fact, it is hoped that the continued success of the USMCA may serve as a foundation for future trade agreements around the world.
The USMCA creates a stable and certain commercial environment that reinforces strong economic ties and enhances North American competitiveness in the global market, thereby ensuring North American economic security, which leads to geopolitical security.
