Amid trade tensions, US, North American leaders take to the stage

It was all smiles at the Kennedy Center in Washington DC as the leaders of the United States, Mexico and Canada took the stage for the 2026 World Cup draw, even as trade tensions simmered in the background.

For Donald Trump, the brief interaction marked his first meeting with Mexican Claudia Sheinbaum, who heads the United States’ largest trading partner.

While Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has already met with Trump several times, trade negotiations have stalled.

Trump signaled this week that the United States was still considering whether it would keep in place a longstanding single free trade agreement between the United States, Canada and Mexico or consider separate bilateral deals.

The agreement – ​​known as USMCA – is due for a mandatory review next year. Carney credits it with protecting Canadian businesses from the bulk of the tariffs imposed by the United States on Canada.

Those underlying tensions seemed distant on Friday, when the leaders took the stage together to select their own countries’ bowls, marking the start of a group selection process for the initial phase of the jointly organized tournament.

The body language of the leaders seemed cordial and warm. Together, they posed for a selfie with FIFA President Gianni Infantino on stage.

Reporters then saw Trump sitting with Sheinbaum, who said earlier in the week that she planned to have a brief one-on-one meeting with Trump to discuss trade issues, including tariffs on steel, aluminum and autos, on the sidelines of the event.

The Trump administration has largely backed away from threatening high tariffs as negotiations continue.

Carney sat next to Sheinbaum. Both expressed interest in securing the future of the USMCA, which has been in place in one form or another since 1994.

Its fate is uncertain pending the results of the mandatory review which is due to be completed in the summer of 2026.

Trump also met with Sheinbaum and Carney on Friday for 45 minutes.

In a statement, Sheinbaum said they spoke about the World Cup and separately “agreed to continue working together on business matters with our teams.”

Carney’s office said the three agreed to continue working together on the USMCA.

Trump told reporters at the White House on Wednesday that the United States would “either let it expire or maybe we’ll find another deal with Mexico and Canada.”

He added that he believed Canada and Mexico had “taken advantage” of the United States.

U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer told Politico on Thursday that Trump was considering splitting the deal into two parts.

“Our relationship with the Canadian economy is totally different than our relationship with the Mexican economy,” Greer said, adding: “It actually doesn’t really make economic sense to want to marry those three together.”

The current USMCA agreement was signed by Trump during his first term. At the time, he hailed it as “the best deal we’ve ever done.”

U.S. companies have so far indicated they want the trade deal to remain in force.

At a three-day public hearing on the upcoming review of the deal in Washington this week, speakers from agricultural, business and political groups said the deal gave them access to the Canadian and Mexican markets.

The World Cup draw also saw President Trump receive the inaugural Fifa Peace Prize, which Infantino said was “in recognition of his exceptional and extraordinary actions to promote peace and unity around the world.”

In brief remarks, Trump said the award was “one of the honors” of his life.