The United States, Mexico, and Canada will not immediately extend their free trade agreement for another 16 years, as the parties are still consulting on possible adjustments to the agreement.

The leaders of the three countries held a virtual meeting on Wednesday, formally launching the joint review process of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), which is required by the agreement itself.

In a video posted on platform X, Mexican Economy Minister Marcelo Ebrard said that during the meeting, U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer informed Mexican Economy Minister Marcelo Ebrard and Canadian Minister of Trade Affairs for the U.S. Dominic LeBlanc that the United States would not extend the agreement for another 16 years at this stage.

After the meeting, Greer issued a similar statement, noting that the United States refused to renew the agreement as is, but that the agreement would remain in effect at least until 2036 pending further negotiations. LeBlanc emphasized in another statement that Canada had advocated for renewal, noting that the agreement remains fully in force and could still be extended in the future.

Since the three countries failed to unanimously agree to renew the agreement under its current terms, they will negotiate over the next year until the next review deadline of July 1, 2027. At that time, the three countries will meet again to decide whether to renew or whether another year of negotiations is needed.

During this rolling annual review process, the agreement can be renewed at any time, and the process will repeat annually until the three countries reach consensus or the agreement expires in 2036. If an agreement is reached, the expiration date will be set 16 years from that date, with the next joint review occurring six years later. For example, if the three countries agree to renew next July, the expiration date would move to 2043, and the next joint review would be held in 2033.

"This is where the real work begins, right? So, this announcement means countries will have more substantive discussions about how the USMCA is handled and whether modifications are necessary," James Kim, an international trade lawyer at ArentFox Schiff, told Supply Chain Dive.

During the rolling annual review process, countries will address a series of long-standing issues in the agreement. Mexican Economy Minister Marcelo Ebrard said on X on Wednesday that partial agreements might be reached during the transition period, but without a specific timeline.

"We are not in a hurry, but we also do not want any uncertainty, so we need to work toward agreements on many issues we have been working on for months," Ebrard said.

The three trading partners had already held preliminary bilateral talks before Wednesday's deadline. Greer and Ebrard confirmed on Wednesday that the United States and Mexico will hold another round of discussions on July 20. It is currently unclear when the United States or Canada will hold talks with each other.

"We agree that it is very important to continue discussions and determine how to ensure that the trade and investment framework between Canada, the United States, and Mexico continues to support North American prosperity and competitiveness," Canadian Minister of Trade Affairs for the U.S. Dominic LeBlanc said in a statement on Wednesday. "For Canada, this includes substantive discussions with the United States on resolving sectoral tariffs on Canadian steel, aluminum, automobiles, and lumber."

The outcome of Wednesday's discussions was not surprising, especially from the U.S. perspective. U.S. President Donald Trump has repeatedly expressed a desire to exit the agreement, telling reporters in mid-June, "I'd rather not have it signed. I'd rather it be terminated."

Despite Trump's threats to withdraw from the agreement, according to Ebrard, there was no indication on Wednesday that any of the three countries planned to exit.

Meanwhile, U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer told Congress in December that the United States would not "rubber-stamp" the agreement, but would push for key modifications related to rules of origin, offshoring, tariffs, export controls, and critical mineral production, among other priorities.

Mexico and Canada, while more favorable to the agreement than the current U.S. administration, have also listed their own negotiation priorities after consulting with industry stakeholders.

According to a report from Mexico's Ministry of Economy, some of the broad issues Mexican stakeholders want to address include: improving the implementation and enforcement of the agreement's provisions, ensuring existing mechanisms are durable and enforced, and promoting "productive integration."

Mexico has also indicated that certain industries have raised different requests regarding rules of origin, while many industries are concerned about U.S. Section 232 tariffs, such as sectoral tariffs on steel and aluminum.

Meanwhile, according to a report from Global Affairs Canada, Canadian stakeholders are pushing for continued duty-free market access among the three trading partners and to prevent any one country from taking unilateral trade actions. Canada has also called for the restoration of the previous "de minimis" threshold for U.S. imports. Previously, under this rule, imports valued under $800 were exempt from tariffs, but the Trump administration eliminated this provision last summer.

Canadian stakeholders also seek greater uniformity in customs, origin verification, and tariff treatment procedures, as well as greater coordination on requirements such as cross-border data flows and artificial intelligence governance. Finally, Canadian stakeholders urge pragmatic modifications to rules of origin so as not to harm integrated North American supply chains that rely on global inputs or cross-border production.