The USMCA Joint Review Is Coming in July 2026 — Here's What's at Stake
July 2026 marks a critical inflection point for North American trade. Under Article 34.7 of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, the three signatories are required to meet on the sixth anniversary of the agreement’s entry into force to conduct a formal review and determine whether to extend USMCA’s operation. That deadline is now months away, and the political environment surrounding it is anything but settled.
USMCA replaced NAFTA on July 1, 2020, preserving most of its predecessor’s architecture while updating key provisions. The new agreement introduced tighter rules of origin for motor vehicles, new digital trade provisions, strengthened worker rights enforcement mechanisms, and added chapters on state-owned enterprises and currency misalignment. An investor-state dispute settlement mechanism was retained between the United States and Mexico, specifically to protect U.S. investors in sectors like oil, natural gas, power generation, and telecommunications.
The July 2026 review is not merely procedural. Congressional views on the agreement are split along predictable lines. Some members regard NAFTA and its successor as foundational to U.S. competitiveness — essential infrastructure for domestic manufacturing, agriculture, and export-oriented industries. Others have pressed for tougher enforcement on worker rights and skepticism about dispute settlement mechanisms that allow foreign investors to challenge government decisions.
Meanwhile, the trade policy environment has shifted since 2020. U.S. tariffs on Mexican goods — including a broad 10% levy imposed under Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974 in February 2026 — complicate the picture, as does the administration’s use of Section 232 to impose duties on autos, auto parts, steel, aluminum, and copper from Mexico. Section 301 investigations opened in early 2026 could generate additional tariff exposure. These measures exist in uneasy tension with an agreement premised on preferential market access.
The USMCA Implementation Act includes consultation requirements that give Congress a formal role in the review process. How legislators choose to exercise that role — and with what priorities — will shape the trajectory of the most economically consequential trade relationship in the Western Hemisphere.