Daily Update — June 17, 2026
Canada, Mexico Seek Tariff Relief; Latin American Oil Opportunities; and US Corn Group Supports USMCA
Today is Wednesday, June 17, 2026, and here’s your curated selection of Essential Intelligence on global markets from S&P Global. Subscribe to be notified of each new Daily Update.
Global Trade
Canada, Mexico push for steel tariff relief amid USMCA negotiations
Canada and Mexico are pushing the US to drop its steel and aluminum tariffs while bolstering their domestic industries amid a required 2026 review of the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement. The economies of both countries have been adversely affected by a 50% US steel tariff, and their leaders are hoping to persuade the US that a free trade zone benefits each country. However, the Trump administration has been resistant to these efforts.
The US is pushing for major changes and threatening to withdraw, while Canada and Mexico are largely pleased with the current agreement, Patrick Childress, an international trade attorney with Holland & Knight, told Platts, part of S&P Global Energy.
Oil & Gas
Listen: Hormuz headwinds an opportunity for Latin American oil producers
With Strait of Hormuz constraints reshaping global supply routes, Latin America is stepping into the spotlight. On this episode of the “Oil Markets” podcast, S&P Global Energy experts Jeff Mower, Kate Winston and Sheky Espejo, as well as freelance energy reporter Charles Newbery, explored how producers across the region are positioned for upstream expansion. They discussed what producers are learning from Argentina's drive to boost Vaca Muerta oil output and exports, the implications of Colombia's upcoming election for oil growth and the conditions needed for investors to commit capital to Venezuela.
Agribusiness
NCGA urges to uphold USMCA, warns of corn export losses if it is not renewed
The National Corn Growers Association advocates for upholding the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement and protecting 1.8 billion bushels of corn demand each year in the form of bulk corn, corn for ethanol and the corn-equivalent value of meat.
"The USMCA is important to my operation and the US farmer,” said Jon Miller, a corn board member of the trade association and central Ohio farmer. “[A]nnually, it not only accounts for $60 billion in US ag exports and $1.5 billion in ethanol to Canada, it has also created 13 million US jobs and has been credited for a $10.7 billion increase in ag exports to Mexico."
On June 10, US President Donald Trump said he is not looking to renew the trilateral trade agreement. “We don’t need anything that Canada has, we don’t need anything that Mexico has, but they need everything that we have," Trump said. If the three countries do not reach a deal by July 1, the agreement could shift to ongoing annual reviews until 2036.
In case you missed it
- North America risks squandering an opportunity to leverage its energy resources and industrial base if tariff disputes and political disagreements continue to overshadow regional integration, according to panelists at the Atlantic Council’s 2026 Global Energy Forum.
- The World Economic Forum warned that an emerging El Niño weather pattern poses a systemic risk to global markets.
- Some European chemical companies have benefited from the Middle East war as global supply shortages temporarily reversed excess capacity, widening production spreads and increasing utilization rates, according to S&P Global Ratings.
Upcoming events
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