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🇲🇽🇺🇸🇨🇦 USMCA talks: “no rush”: Sheinbaum said Mexico is making progress ahead of a bilateral negotiating round starting in 11 days and sees no urgency around the July 1 target date for a renewal decision. Mexico will push to reduce or eliminate U.S. tariffs on products such as steel, aluminum and vehicles.
- ✒️Signing of Mexico-EU trade deal set for May 22: EU representatives will travel to Mexico City next week to sign a new trade agreement. Sheinbaum said it poses no risk to the USMCA and will open new export opportunities for Mexican producers.
- 📉 Sheinbaum pushes back on S&P: Two days after Standard & Poor’s revised Mexico’s long-term outlook to negative, the president vowed to prove the agency wrong, arguing that public and private investment will drive a stronger second half of 2026 after an economic contraction in Q1.
Why today’s mañanera matters
At her Thursday morning press conference, President Sheinbaum spoke about two important trade agreements: the USMCA and the new Mexico-European Union pact that is expected to be signed in Mexico City on Friday, May 22.
While Sheinbaum said that the new deal with the EU will benefit Mexican exporters, she made it clear — without explicitly spelling it out — that the USMCA is the predominant pact for Mexico.
Given that more than 80% of Mexico’s exports go to the United States, and Mexico is now the world’s largest importer of U.S. goods, it is incumbent upon the president to prioritize the USMCA.
In that context, Sheinbaum’s remark at today’s mañanera that there is “no rush” to conclude the USMCA review process was significant. The president is apparently unconcerned that July 1 — the date by which Mexico, the U.S. and Canada are “supposed” to reach an agreement on whether to renew the USMCA for an additional 16 years or not — is less than seven weeks away. She is confident that the pact will be renewed, whenever that might be, and Mexican negotiators — headed up by Economy Minister Marcelo Ebrard — will be seeking the best possible deal for Mexico.
The Center for Strategic and International Studies said in a March 27 article that a “clean, early extension by July 1 now appears unlikely.”
Last week, Washington and Mexico City formally launched the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) review process. With the deadline to extend the agreement coming in July, @CSISAmericas outlined six economic scenarios for the future.
Read here: https://t.co/o1uWQUZZvS
— CSIS (@CSIS) March 28, 2026
As part of the review process, Mexico and the United States will be seeking various concessions from each other. Sheinbaum said this morning that Mexico will be pushing for a reduction — or ideally the elimination — of U.S. tariffs on a range of Mexican goods.
‘No rush’ in USMCA negotiations, says Sheinbaum
Sheinbaum told reporters that Mexico is “making progress” in negotiations ahead of the formal review of the USMCA free trade pact.
“There is no rush,” she said 11 days before the commencement of a USMCA negotiating round between Mexico and the United States.
Sheinbaum reiterated that Mexico wants current U.S. tariffs on Mexican products, including steel, aluminum and vehicles, to be reduced.
She also said there is already “a lot of communication” between Mexico, the United States and Canada on trade issues.
As part of the USMCA review, the three North American countries have to decide whether to extend the USMCA for an additional 16 years — i.e. until 2042. Even if they don’t reach an agreement to do so, the three-way trade pact cannot expire before 2036.
US and Mexico set May 25 date for first official USMCA negotiating round
Sheinbaum: Trade deal with EU doesn’t pose any risk to USMCA
Sheinbaum noted that European Union representatives will come to Mexico late next week for the signing of a new trade deal between the two parties.
The new pact, she said, “doesn’t place the trade agreement with the United States at risk in any of its facets.”
Sheinbaum also said that the new agreement with the EU will create “a lot of possibilities” for the export of Mexican products.
Sheinbaum vows to prove S&P wrong
Two days after Standard & Poor’s revised its outlook on the long-term ratings on Mexico from stable to negative, Sheinbaum pledged to prove the rating agency wrong.
“[Regarding] this rating agency that put out a negative outlook, we’re going to turn things around so that it realizes it made a mistake,” she said.
Her remark appeared to be mainly a rejection of S&P’s forecast that the Mexican economy will grow just 1% this year. Sheinbaum said that Mexico is “developing a strong economy” and asserted that public and private investment will have a significant impact on economic activity in the second half of 2026.
“We’re doing well,” she said, even though the Mexican economy contracted on a quarter-over-quarter basis in the first three months of the year.
“I’m obviously working every day, but confident that the Mexican economy is fine,” Sheinbaum said.
By Mexico News Daily chief staff writer Peter Davies (peter.davies@mexiconewsdaily.com)
