US President Donald Trump said on September 16, 2026 that his administration is "very close" to closing a trade deal with Mexico, speaking at a rally at the municipal airport in Gastonia, North Carolina, where he was backing the Senate campaign of Republican candidate Michael Whatley.
The remarks came amid the bilateral talks Mexico and the United States are holding as part of the USMCA review. US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick spoke on September 9 with President Claudia Sheinbaum, a meeting the Mexican government described as "very useful for trade negotiations between both countries," according to Aristegui Noticias. On September 12, Trump had said he maintains a "good relationship" with Mexico, while accusing Canada of "scamming" the United States for 50 years. On the agenda are rules of origin, steel and aluminum trade, agriculture, labor conditions and investment.
Trump paired the announcement with a challenge to his country's trade deficits. "Why should we support Canada? Why should we support Mexico? Even though we are very close to a deal with Mexico, a big deal," he said at the rally. The president put the deficit with European nations at 200 billion dollars and estimated at least 1.5 trillion dollars the benefit of ceasing to trade with the countries that sell him more than they buy from him. He also listed Canada among the partners with which his country runs negative balances, and said he will prioritize goods manufactured on US soil, among them automobiles, timber and food.
The next round of negotiations between the two governments was pushed back one week and is now scheduled for September 28 and 29, according to Wall Street Journal information picked up by La Jornada on September 16. The report, signed by Reuters, does not specify the reason for the postponement. Both countries are seeking to fine-tune their regulatory and trade positions before the end of the year.
This article was written with the assistance of artificial intelligence from verified sources and reviewed by a human editor before publication.