NEW YORK, July 1 (Xinhua) -- The United States did not agree to renew the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) in its current form after a virtual meeting of the three parties on Wednesday -- the deadline for the North American trade partners to determine whether the agreement would be extended for another 16 years.
The United States "will continue to engage with Mexico and Canada to address the Agreement's shortcomings and our trade deficits with these countries," said U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer in a statement released after the meeting.
"The Agreement remains in force pending resolution of these issues or until the Agreement's termination," Greer said, adding the United States will meet with Mexico the week of July 20 for a third round of bilateral negotiations related to the USMCA joint review.
The USMCA was negotiated and came into effect in July 2020 -- during U.S. President Donald Trump's first term -- to replace the 26-year-old North American Free Trade Agreement, which Trump frequently criticized as a raw deal for the United States.
But Trump's tariff policy has changed the nature of the trading relationship among the three countries ahead of Wednesday's deadline for the USMCA, local media reported, quoting a senior administration official.
Trump has long complained about the United States running trade deficits with its trading partners, including Mexico and Canada, and his "primary" concern with the USMCA centers on the United States' trade deficits with both nations, according to the official.
The United States and Mexico had already begun a series of bilateral negotiations scheduled to continue past the deadline. Meanwhile, U.S.-Canadian talks have not started. ■
