The U.S. has unveiled the official process it will use to collect public feedback on the benefits and drawbacks of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement through a Federal Register notice submitted for public inspection on Tuesday.
The move is a critical step ahead of a trilateral diplomatic review of the free trade agreement next year. When the USMCA was signed in 2020, the three countries agreed to conduct a “joint review” meeting every six years to assess and potentially update the terms of the deal. Each country must submit a list of recommended modifications at least one month before the meeting.
The first joint review meeting of the USMCA is scheduled for July 1, 2026, according to the notice, giving countries less than a year to finalize their recommendations. Canada started a public input process last year, and Mexico is slated to gather input from several working groups in September. Now, the U.S. is following suit.
"The USMCA is a pivotal trade deal with two of our closest trading partners -- Mexico and Canada,” Retail Industry Leaders Association Senior EVP of Public Affairs Austen Jensen told Supply Chain Dive in an email. “The deal struck by President Trump was an important example of the kind of trade policy that helps consumers and domestic industries. Retailers look forward to working with the administration as it embarks on the process of reviewing the agreement.”
In the notice, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative said it is looking for interested parties to weigh in on several key topics, including actions the U.S. should propose to promote balanced trade, new market access and economic security between the three trading partners.
The notice also calls for submissions to address the USMCA’s effectiveness in promoting investment in U.S. productivity and technological development, a key pillar of President Donald Trump’s trade agenda.
All stakeholders must submit comments within 45 days of the notice being published in the Federal Register. If the notice is published as planned on Sept. 17, the public comment deadline would be by 11:59 p.m. EST on Nov. 1, 2025.
In addition, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative is planning a public hearing at the U.S. International Trade Commission on Nov. 17. Interested parties must similarly notify the office of their intent to provide testimony within 45 days of the Federal Register notice’s publication date.
“The request for comments is an important step in the USMCA review process,” National Retail Federation VP of Supply Chain and Customs Policy Jonathan Gold said in an email to Supply Chain Dive, noting that the trade organization plans to submit comments. “This will give NRF and other stakeholders an opportunity to weigh in and provide our thoughts and insights into USMCA and what we think the U.S. should seek to achieve during the review.”
The U.S. public input process starts ahead of a potential crossroads for President Donald Trump’s trade policy for North America.
In the coming months, the Supreme Court will rule on whether the president can use emergency powers to install broad tariffs of unlimited duration, as he did when placing duties on imports from numerous trading partners this year.
While Trump has exempted USMCA-qualifying products from many of those tariffs, the countries are still engaged in trade talks over the details of future trade policy. Mexico, for example, secured the USMCA-exemption only until the end of October as part of a tariff deal.
Phil Neuffer contributed to this story.
