U.S. Pushes Mexico for Pre-Election Trade Deal as USMCA Review Nears Finish
Updated
Updated · POLITICO · Sep 28
U.S. Pushes Mexico for Pre-Election Trade Deal as USMCA Review Nears Finish
1 articles · Updated · POLITICO · Sep 28
Summary
U.S. officials want to announce an “early harvest” deal with Mexico before Election Day, turning to the USMCA review as Trump seeks a trade win ahead of the midterms.
Mexico has recently moved on several U.S. complaints—proposing foreign-investment screening, tightening aluminum and steel import monitoring, and cutting proposed radio-spectrum fees—while Washington has offered Mexico its most preferential tariff treatment.
A fourth bilateral negotiating round due this week was postponed, but Mexican officials still hope it will be the last and that an agreement can be unveiled in the coming weeks.
Agriculture remains the main obstacle, with disputes over seasonal fruit and vegetable imports and U.S. demands to protect generic meat and cheese names that could clash with Mexico’s commitments in its EU deal.
The Mexico push follows other trade setbacks for Trump, including collapsed Canada talks and only modest deliverables from Xi Jinping’s Washington visit, despite a two-month U.S.-China trade truce extension.