Vancouver, Canada – As the trade agreement between the United States, Mexico and Canada comes up for its first joint mandatory review on July 1, experts say the chances of it being renewed have reduced, given how mercurial US President Donald Trump can be.Trump had pushed for a new deal during his first term to replace the North America Free Trade Agreement, or NAFTA.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemsend of listThe result was the USMCA agreement, which came into effect on July 1, 2020, and is slated to expire after 16 years.Now, on the USMCA’s sixth anniversary, the three countries involved are set to decide whether the trade deal should continue for another 16 years.But it is unclear what the outcome of the review process might be, and critics warn that the uncertainty it creates could generate complications for businesses.If all three countries fail to commit to an extension, it triggers an annual review process, which would put the USMCA up for debate every year until 2036.“We may get mandatory annual reviews, but that also means that uncertainty prevails, and that’s a negative for decision-making for businesses,” said Tony Stillo, director of Canada Economics at Oxford Economics, an advisory firm. “It’s a definite dampener, for sure.”That, however, is the situation analysts currently expect to result from the July review.“The most likely scenario is that it will go into an annu …
