Pacheco: The lingering uncertainty over the USMCA’s future

The trade community has been waiting for July to arrive, as the formal review of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada-Agreement, or USMCA, was slated to begin between the three North American trade partners. Last year, the total trade in the USMCA zone reached approximately $2 trillion. Trade between the U.S. and Mexico was $873 billion, and U.S. trade with Canada was $719 billion. So, the stakes were high as to the direction the three partners, particularly the U.S., would take in this formal review. Three paths were evident. One, the partners could quickly renew the USMCA in its present form for 16 years,…