US trade chief Greer aiming for ‘interim arrangements’ on USMCA by year end

U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer on Wednesday said he hopes to strike some interim trade agreements with Mexico and Canada this year while tackling thornier changes to the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement such as stricter rules of origin in 2027.

"We are moving with all due speed on this," Greer told the Senate Finance Committee in a hearing reviewing President Donald Trump's trade agenda. Greer will leave Washington on Wednesday for Mexico City for USMCA talks with officials there, including Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum.

He said that key U.S. objectives, including changes to automotive rules of origin to incentivize more production in the U.S. and North America, along with stronger labor and environmental standards, will take more time to negotiate.

He did not specify what separate "potential interim arrangements" would look like, but said he wanted to have options for Trump, Sheinbaum and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney to consider by the end of this year. 

"I would love to have by the end of the year at least some arrangements — one with Canada, one with Mexico — and then some of these issues that are really important like rules of origin ... labor, environment ... take a little more time, to have more discussion of that, including with Congress, in the following year," he said.

Greer's comments signal that a full renegotiation of the trade pact — and more business and investment uncertainty — will bleed into next year, something Canada and Mexico have been seeking to avoid.

Mexico's Economy Ministry declined to comment on Greer's remarks.

Gabriel Brunet, a spokesperson for Dominic LeBlanc, Canadian minister responsible for U.S.-Canada trade, said the minister spoke with Greer on Tuesday after Carney and Trump agreed to intensify trade talks.

"We look forward to further engagement on addressing outstanding issues with the U.S. to the mutual benefit of our citizens," he said. 

The trade pact has defined North America's economy for 32 years, underpinning nearly $1.6 trillion in regional trade, with Mexico and Canada sending the vast majority of their exports to the U.S.

But Trump has been sharply critical of the trade pact, despite having renegotiated it during his first term in office. 

On July 1, Trump chose not to renew the agreement, a decision that triggers a process of annual reviews. Under the arrangement, the pact will remain in effect until all three countries agree to renew it or, failing that, it expires in 2036.

 Mexico's new ambassador to the U.S., Roberto Lazzeri, told Reuters on Friday that Mexico was expecting to reach a new deal on USMCA by the end of the year.