U.S. President Donald Trump has said the United States Mexico Canada Agreement (USMCA) is not relevant to the United States, arguing that Canada needs the trade deal more than Washington, as he renewed calls for companies to shift manufacturing back to the U.S.
“There’s no real advantage to it; it’s irrelevant,” Trump said of the agreement on Tuesday during a visit to Detroit, Michigan. “Canada would love it. Canada wants it. They need it.”
Detroit’s three major automakers Ford, General Motors and Stellantis rely heavily on North American supply chains, with significant parts production in both Mexico and Canada.
Each company manufactures hundreds of thousands of vehicles annually in the two countries.
In November, major carmakers including Tesla, Toyota and Ford urged the Trump administration to extend the USMCA, saying the pact is vital to U.S. auto production.
The American Automotive Policy Council, which represents the Detroit Three, has said the agreement allows U.S.-based automakers to compete globally through regional integration, delivering efficiency gains and tens of billions of dollars in annual savings.
General Motors President Mark Reuss said at an event on Tuesday that the industry’s supply chains span all three countries. “It’s not simple. It’s very complex. The whole North American piece of that is a big strength,” he said.
Trump made the remarks while touring a Ford factory in Dearborn, Michigan, ahead of a speech on the economy in Detroit later on Tuesday.
“The problem is, we don’t need their product. We don’t need cars made in Canada. We don’t need cars made in Mexico. We want to make them here, and that’s what’s happening,” he said.
The USMCA, which replaced the North American Free Trade Agreement in 2020 and was negotiated during Trump’s first term, requires the three countries to conduct a joint review after six years.
On Wall Street, shares of two Detroit automakers were trading lower, with Ford down 0.25 percent and Stellantis down 2.9 percent, while General Motors shares were up 0.6 percent.
Join us on our WhatsApp Platform @KOIKIMEDIA NEWS YOUR PAGE
koikimedia Bringing the World 🌎 Closer to Your Doorstep