The article argues that the Trump administration should use the scheduled review of the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) to demand trade reforms before extending it for another 16 years. It says the review should not be automatic, despite the agreement strengthening North American trade and commercial links, because it was intended to assess whether the deal is meeting its objectives and to correct weaknesses.

The piece portrays the administration’s approach as an effort to address perceived gaps in the agreement, particularly those it believes China can exploit through North American trade arrangements. It does not provide specific proposed reforms or supporting figures in the supplied text, but frames the issue as a test of whether USMCA delivers fairer trade for the United States.