It is not a renegotiation, it is a review
President Claudia Sheinbaum was clear this Tuesday: the Treaty between Mexico, the United States and Canada is not a renegotiation. It’s a review. And according to her, it is very advanced to close this year.
“This year, the issue of the Treaty, of the revision, will be closed, because it is not a renegotiation, it is only a revision. And it is very advanced,” he said in his morning conference.
A semantic detail that seems minor but carries a world of political meaning. Renegotiating sounds like starting from scratch. Review sounds like technical adjustments. The difference is not accidental.
The progress and what’s coming
Sheinbaum assured that the Secretary of Economy, Marcelo Ebrard, will soon present the results of a consultation carried out on the trade agreement. Regarding the possibility of extending it until 2042, he only repeated that the information will be made known.
Regarding the famous 54 non-tariff measures under discussion, he stated that almost all of them are “settled.” But he dropped a juicy but:
“There are some who can’t do exactly what they say.”
He mentioned the thorny case of Vulcan and competition issues, finishing with a phrase for the bronze:
“We never give in to anything that we consider violates our sovereignty, our laws or our project.”
A nod to the more nationalist base without giving concrete details of what concessions were not made. Classic.
The other front: Plan Mexico
Apart from the T-MEC, the president spoke about Plan Mexico. This Wednesday his cabinet will meet with businessmen to give a “preview” of the results after one year.
He highlighted records in foreign investment and economic growth that, he says, exceeded the expectations of financial organizations. The declared objective continues to be to boost national production.
He also announced a new Economy Digitalization Plan, the details of which he promised to reveal from the National Museum of Anthropology.
In short: a lot of official optimism on both fronts – the trilateral commercial and the internal economic front – but with the fine print still to be defined. The true test will be when Ebrard presents that consultation document and we know what that “very advanced review” really means.




