Ahead of the review of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), U.S. President Donald Trump asserted on Tuesday that the trilateral free trade pact provides “no real advantage” to the United States and is “irrelevant” to him.
“I don’t even think about USMCA,” Trump told reporters during a tour of a Ford plant in Dearborn, Michigan.
“I want to see Mexico and Canada do well, but the problem is we don’t need their product,” he said.
“You don’t think you’re going to renegotiate USMCA?” probed a reporter.
“Well, I can, it expires very shortly, and we could have it or not, it wouldn’t matter to me,” responded Trump, who in the past has floated the possibility of the United States entering into bilateral trade deals with each of Mexico and Canada.
“I think they want it, I don’t really care about it,” he continued.
.@POTUS at @Ford‘s Dearborn Truck Plant: “I want to see Canada and Mexico do well, but 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.” pic.twitter.com/yNrKWGi4Vi
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) January 13, 2026
“No real advantage to us. It’s irrelevant to me. Canada would love it. Canada wants it. They need it,” said Trump, who negotiated the USMCA during his first term as president and in 2019 asserted that it would be “the best and most important trade deal ever made by the USA.”
On Tuesday, the U.S. president also said: “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.”
Trump’s remarks came 5 1/2 months before the commencement of the formal review of the USMCA, which superseded the North American Free Trade Agreement, or NAFTA, on July 1, 2020.
The U.S. president’s claim that the USMCA “expires very shortly” is not true, as even if Mexico, the United States and Canada don’t agree to extend the pact during the upcoming review process, it would not be terminated until 2036.
His assertion that the U.S. doesn’t need Mexican and Canadian products is highly questionable.
Reuters reported on Tuesday that “the Detroit Three” — General Motors, Ford and Stellantis — “are heavily reliant on supply chains that include significant parts production in Mexico and Canada.”
General Motors president Mark Reuss said Thursday that the company’s “supply chains go all the way through all three countries” and described the integration as a “big strength.”
Beyond the auto industry, various other manufacturing sectors are highly integrated across the United States, Mexico and Canada.
The USMCA governs trade worth around US $2 trillion per year. The pact was significantly undermined by Trump in 2025, as he imposed tariffs on a range of goods from Mexico and Canada, including steel, aluminum and vehicles.
Sheinbaum: ‘I’m convinced that Mexico’s trade relationship with the United States will continue’
Asked about Trump’s remarks at her morning press conference, President Claudia Sheinbaum first pointed out that the economies of Mexico, the United States and Canada are “very integrated.”
She went on to say that “those who most defend” the USMCA are businesspeople in the United States.
“Of course, Mexico as well,” Sheinbaum added.
Indeed, as Reuters reported on Tuesday, “major automakers including Tesla, Toyota and Ford in November urged the Trump administration to extend USMCA, saying it is crucial to American auto production.”
Reuters also reported that “the American Automotive Policy Council, representing the Detroit Three automakers, said USMCA ‘enables automakers operating in the U.S. to compete globally through regional integration, which delivers efficiency gains’ and accounts ‘for tens of billions of dollars in annual savings.'”
In light of the integration across various sectors in North America, Sheinbaum declared that she is “convinced” that Mexico’s trade relationship with the United States will continue despite Trump’s most recent remarks. She has previously said that she is “very positive” and “very optimistic” about the USMCA review.
On Wednesday, Sheinbaum said she wasn’t going to enter into a debate about trade with Trump, but stressed the “importance” of maintaining the Mexico-U.S. trade relationship “for both countries.”
The Mexican and U.S. presidents spoke by telephone on Monday, but their conversation focused on security issues. Sheinbaum subsequently said that she and Trump had agreed to another call soon in order to discuss “other issues,” including trade.
