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Every day more than $4 billion worth of goods cross the United States’ borders with Canada and MexicoU.S. auto parts headed for car factories in northern Mexico, cartons of Mexican avocados bound for California supermarkets, Canadian aluminum destined to become cans of Campbell Soup.Much of this bustling cross-border commerce is duty-free, thanks to the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement, or USMCA, that President Donald Trump negotiated with America’s northern and southern neighbors during his first term.But the future of the USMCA , which took effect July 1, 2020, is cloudy as the three countries begin what could be a tempestuous attempt to renew the pact this year. The United States is demanding changes to the treaty, and the top U.S. trade negotiator told Politico in December that Trump would be willing to pull the United States out of the pact if he can’t get the deal he wants. Trump also suggested last fall that the United States could negotiate separate deals with Canada and Mexico, ending the three-country North American bloc that previous administrations saw as crucial to competing economically with China and the European Union.The talks kick off Monday between U.S. and Mexican trade officials.The North American economies could agree to renew USMCA as it is for another 16 years a prospect that appears unlikely. Or they could keep working on ways to improve it; under a convoluted renewal process, they have until 2036 to reach an agreement or the pact expires.Meantime, any USMCA country can pull out of the pact provided it gives its two partners six months’ notice an option that Canada and Mexico, heavily dependent on trade with the United States, fear the impulsive Trump might end up choosing.At stake is $1.6 trillion worth of annual trade in goods between the United States and its two USMCA partners. Mexico and Canada are far ahead of China in both exports to and imports from the United States. American farmers are especially keen to see the deal renewed: Last year, they shipped nearly $31 billion in agricultural products to Mexico and $28 billion to Canada.U.S. imports from Canada and Mexico were spared the worst of Trump’s 2025 tariffs; many goods compliant with USMCA rules continued to enter the United States duty free. Still, a number of products did not get protection from the U.S. levies, including medium- and heavy-duty trucks, which face a 25% tariff. A 50% tariff on steel, aluminum and copper remains in effect, as does a 17% tariff on Mexican tomatoes.The USMCA replaced the 1994 North American Free Trade Agreement negotiated by President George H.W. Bush and signed into law by President Bill Clinton.Trump and other critics had criticized NAFTA as a killer of U.S. jobs because it encouraged U.S. companies to relocate factories south of the border to take advantage of low-wage Mexican labor and then send goods back to the United States duty free.The USMCA, ratified by Congress with rare support from Republicans and Democrats alike, ended up being very similar to NAFTA. But it did contain provisions designed to encourage factories in the region to pay higher wages and make sure that more of what they made originated in North America.The new pact updated North American trade rules for the digital age. The USMCA, for instance, bars the United States, Mexico and Canada from slamming each other with import taxes on music, software, games and other products sold electronically.A proud Trump declared the USMCA “the fairest, most balanced and beneficial trade agreement we have ever signed.”But the president’s enthusiasm seems to have waned. In January, he expressed little interest in the upcoming talks to renew the agreement. The effort, he said, offered “no real advantage to us. It’s irrelevant to me.”The USMCA did little to ease one of Trump’s biggest complaints: The U.S. deficit in the trade of goods with Mexico, which rose last year to a record $197 billion as the United States reduced its reliance on Chinese imports. The U.S. also ran a merchandise trade deficit with Canada of $46.4 billion last year, a decrease from 2024.“Improvements are required for it to deliver the high-wage U.S. manufacturing powerhouse and balanced trade (Trump) promised and we need,” said Lori Wallach, director of the Rethink Trade program at the American Economic Liberties Project.The United States plans to push for a series of changes, including stronger rules to ensure that goods from China won’t slip into the United States under USMCA; to encourage more production in the United States; and to ensure more access to Canada’s protected dairy market for U.S. farmers.Mexico’s core priorities are to avoid a major rewrite of the agreement and to make rules of origin more flexible allowing imports of parts from outside North America when they are not available in the region. Mexican negotiators also want assurances that anything agreed to will stick, providing insurance against Trump’s unpredictability and his enthusiasm for tariffs.Mexico wants to minimize tariffs as much as possible. Mexican Economy Secretary Marcelo Ebrard said Mexico wants to strengthen the dispute resolution system already in place under the treaty. That would not eliminate the possibility of tariffs, but it would provide clear, swift channels for seeking solutions when problems arise, he said.Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum’s administration will have to simultaneously manage existing security issues, which are ongoing after the killing of Jalisco New Generation Cartel’s leader in late February, and which could influence economic matters.Mexico anticipates that Canada will join the talks later, but its top priority in the coming months is to reach agreements and maintain the free trade with the United States, its main commercial partner.Mexico is pushing the idea that the treaty is also good for the US. “The integration of our countries is an absolute prerequisite for the United States to remain competitive,” Ebrard said recently. “We must move forward together; otherwise, we will not succeed.” Paul Wiseman and María Verza, Associated Press
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After-hours meetings have gone from rare to regular occurrences, and while some are hoping AI can help reverse the trend, experts warn breaking the habit will take more than tech. In a recent survey conducted by AI-powered workspace provider Miro, 33% of US-based knowledge workers said they frequently attended after-hours meetings in 2025, up from 23% in 2024. “Six in 10 people attend meetings after hours at least once a month, and that has all kinds of negative downstream effects,” says Dom Katz, Miro’s ways of working lead. “The data suggests more and more people consistently have meetings after their usual workday ends, and it’s getting worse; not just in the U.S. or Europe, but across the board.” Katz explains that the explosion in after-hours meetings is likely an extension of the rise in meetings more broadly. According to a 2025 study by Miro, for each hour a worker spends on momentum worklike brainstorming, collaborative workshops and interactive cross functional projectsthey spend three more on maintenance tasks, like emails, paperwork and meetings. It creates stress, its a productivity drain, and saps them off their creativity, Katz says. Katz explains that scheduling and video conferencing technology has made it easier than ever to call a meeting. But he also warns that without proper guidelines, workers are likely to get stuck in a lot of unnecessary meetings, during and beyond standard operating hours. Bad meeting hygiene is definitely a contributor, he says. You get into the meeting, theres no agenda, they run over constantly, theres no decisions made, so you get another meeting around it; its incredibly ineffective. Why Were Meeting More at Night The Miro data is consistent with Microsofts 2025 Work Trend Index, which found that meetings after 8 p.m. increased 16% from the previous year. According to that study, which was based on anonymized Microsoft Teams user data, the bulk of the increase was attributed to global and flexible teams. In our sentiment data, which goes out to 31,000 people, 80% of employees said they didnt feel like they had enough time and energy to do their job, so we know people are feeling burnt out, says Alexia Cambon, director, office of applied research at Microsoft. The lack of firm boundaries between personal life and professional life is probably a contributor. Cambon hypothesizes that meetings began creeping into non-working hours during the pandemic and the transition to remote work. That period, she explains, introduced many to digital meetings toolswhich made it possible to call a meeting with a few clickswhile making it harder to switch off at the end of the day. The added flexibility may have also allowed some to shift their work schedules in ways that better suited their personal needs, like putting off meetings until after their kids were in bed. Another potential factor, suggests Cambon, is the increasingly global nature of work. According to the Microsoft study, nearly a third of meetings span multiple time zones, a 35% increase from 2021, increasing the likelihood that some participants are joining after-hours in their time zone. And then I think just the business pressures are higher, and we saw that in the survey data, she says. In particular, over half of business leaders told us they need more productivity from their employees, so we are seeing this very rapid pace. Why AI Cant Fix a Broken Meeting Culture New AI tools could reduce late-night gatherings by allowing workers to send AI note takers in their place, or enable more asynchronous alternatives to real-time events. At the same time, Cambon warns that the technology alone wont produce better meeting hygiene. Your meeting culture is your meeting culture, and unless you use AI very intentionally, nothing is really going to change, she warns. You have to figure out how to make your meeting culture better. At the same time, the technology is also putting more pressure on businesses to adapt, which often results in more meetings, not less. Were seeing work shift in new ways, driven by AI, and from my perspective this has been an incredibly intensive time for workers and in particular workers in AI-native organizations, says Dr. Rebecca Hinds, the head of the AI Work Institute for enterprise AI platform Glean and author of Your Best Meeting Ever. There’s a pressure that I’ve never seen before, and we’re seeing more and more evidence that that is contributing to after-hours work. In the wake of the pandemic, some organizations used new remote collaboration tools to enable greater flexibility, while others used them to encroach on work-life boundaries, and Dr. Hinds warns that AI is no different. The more we have access to technology, the easier it is to schedule and attend a meeting, the more we’re going to do that in an environment where we don’t have a healthy, intentional meeting culture, she says. All of this is lowering the bar in terms of what it takes to schedule a meeting. Using technology to free your evenings At the same time, Dr. Hinds says there are ways to use technology to promote work-life boundaries and free our evenings from work responsibilities. For example, some tools allow workers to limit their meeting availability to working hours. Others automatically warn organizers when theyre scheduling a meeting after-hours for participants in other time-zones. Some will even flag when a meeting is likely to be ineffective, such as when there are too many participants, or a majority of invitations havent received a response. Other tools, like AI note-takers, video messaging apps and digital collaboration tools are making it easier for workers to collaborate asynchronously, reducing their reliance on real-time conversations. Asynchronous is the name of the game in terms of decreasing our time spent in dysfunctional meetings, Dr. Hinds says. [As is] having clear norms around what is the purpose of each tool, what is the purpose of a meeting, and how should we be using meetings? That holds true for any time of day.
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At the turn of the 20th century, the steel magnate and philanthropist Andrew Carnegie donated $5.2 million to New York to build libraries across the city. Leading architects of the time designed the branches, 67 in all, to look and function like civic temples with elaborate Beaux-Arts detailing, welcoming entrances, dignified reading rooms, and open stacks where patrons could freely browse. They quickly became important, and beloved, neighborhood establishments and remain so today. After more than a century of use, and ad hoc upgrades and adaptations that are also dated, the buildings are due for upgrades. Last year, the New York Public Library (NYPL) completed a $176 million renovation of five Carnegie Libraries in The Bronx, Manhattan, and Staten Island. Theyre pilots of Carnegie renovations to come. Spearheaded by the architecture firms Mitchell Giurgola, which also developed design standards for the renovations, and CannonDesign, the climate-sensitive and community-informed transformations are models for balancing historic architecture and contemporary use. The buildings are such a part of the fabric of the community and we wanted to double down on that, says Kerry Gould, director of capital planning at NYPL. They needed love, and they got it. Hunts Point Library [Photo: Albert Vecerka] A new approach for old libraries Public libraries are the rare institutions with near-universal approval. According to a Pew study, 94% of Americans age 16 or older believe libraries improve quality of life. Perhaps because of this, the city has entered another golden age of architectural invention around them. Affordable housing crowns branches in Sunset Park, Inwood, and Grand Concourse; a recently completed branch in Greenpoint, which replaced a too-small library dating from the 1970s, doubles as an environmental education center; and a glimmering composition by the local artist José Parlá envelops the new Far Rockaway branch. But ground-up contemporary buildings are only part of the story. The Carnegie renovations underscore how a preservation-focused approach can modernize the system while protecting important neighborhood landmarks and community anchors. As aging Carnegie Libraries become Apple stores, comedy clubs, and boutique hotels, or simply deteriorate until demolition is a foregone conclusion, New York is figuring out how to keep themand keep them relevant. In architecture, historic character used to be just about culture and preservation, and I think thats really important, says Carol Loewenson, an architect and partner at Mitchell Giurgola. But saving what you have is also the most sustainable thing you can do. The continuity of old, new, and future is really what makes New York, and any place, thrilling. Hunts Point Library [Photo: Albert Vecerka] Carnegie libraries then and now New York City has 216 library branches, which are managed by three systems: NYPL is responsible for 88 locations in Manhattan, the Bronx, and Staten Island. (The Brooklyn Public Library oversees the boroughs 62 locations and the Queens Public Library has 66 outposts within its jurisdiction.) Of the 39 Carnegie Libraries originally within NYPLs remit, 30 are still in operation. They face similar issues related to operations and relevance. To wit: They were constructed before the Americans with Disabilities Act; before teens, who are avid patrons, were considered a distinct age and cultural group (until the 1940s, you were either a child or an adult); and before climate change became an urgent issue. And while libraries maintain a mission to advance knowledge and strengthen communities, these institutions today do a lot more than circulate books; they serve as emergency cooling and warming centers, technology hubs where patrons can access computers and 3D printers, and more. Because there are so many Carnegie Libraries in the city, the NYPL decided to approach their renovations systematically. Design standards could ensure stylistic consistency across the upgrades. Its also practical: the more uniform the building management systems are, the easier repairs and maintenance are since crews have familiarity with the equipment. The standards include specifications for lighting, bookcases and millwork, circulation desks, how to integrate modern heating and cooling infrastructure, and methods for creating flexible-use space. Before implementing these design standards, the NYPL handled Carnegie renovations differently. While the exteriors remained the same, interior overhauls looked like they belonged to different buildings. Renovations and repairs happened piecemeal as equipment reached the end of their useful life, and modifications accumulated to the point where changes obscured the buildings spirit. Very often we are doing necessity repairs and you’re sort of cobbling things together, Gould says. Despite needing upgrades, the original Carnegie buldings were innovative a century ago and remain hallmarks of good library design today thanks to their large windows that bathed interiors in daylight, spacious reading rooms with high ceilings, a central circulation desk, natural materials, and movable furniture. It seems so obvious, but people don’t always get it right with libraries, Loewenson says. And those fundamentals really do work. Were doing an academic library right now and I just intuitively use the Carnegie standards and principles, and it just nails it. It’s kind of amazing. The architects emphasized those details while introducing energy efficient building systems (like triple-pane windows and sensor-operated environmental controls), amenities to better serve library patrons (like teen rooms), and improved accessibility (like adding elevators and ramps). Additionally, the library commissioned artwork that connects to each branchs respective community, based on intel from engagement sessions. Melrose Library [Photo: Albert Vecerka] Site-specific solutions Each Carnegie library is differentsome are freestanding structures, some are mid-block, and their sizes vary. While design standards informed the top-level approach for the renovations, it’s not a one-size-fits-all kind of thing, Loewenstein says. You first figure out what you’ve got and then what the needs are and then you start adjusting. Historic preservation rules often informed how the architects approached the renovations. At 125th Street, a McKim, Mead & White branch dating to 1904, no additions could be visible from the street, which nixed moving all the mechanical systems to the roof. So instead, the team at CannonDesign, who oversaw this branchs renovation, hunted for opportunities to make space inside. Caretaker apartments originally occupied the top floor of Carnegie Libraries (someone needed to feed the coal furnaces 24/7) and over time, these rooms became convenient locations for HVAC equipment. Meanwhile, air handlers and ductwork have become smaller and more efficient since they first went into the libraries. Because of this, the architects could condense the systems into a compact footprint and turn some of the back-of-house areas into public space. At 125th, they were able to squeeze a teen area as well as staff offices into the top floor. Now people, not just machinery, get to enjoy the dramatic double-height level illuminated by clerestory windows. When we went into the design phase of these libraries, the amount of potential on the top floor, it was just incredible to see, says Dan Sheen, an architect at CannonDesign. It was about taking advantage of what was given to us and running iterations until we finally got to a point where it’s like, okay, this represents a modern space, but also pays homage to the original design when it was in its prime, too. Indeed, the renovated Carnegie Libraries look more like themselves, just better. They also perform at a higher level than before. The Port Richmond branch, designed in 1905 by Carrere & Hastings, architects of the NYPLs famed Fifth Avenue flagship, is now LEED Silver certified. Sheen and his team looked to Passive House design strategies to retrofit the building, including modifying the masonry walls (they installed mineral wool insulation and a smart vapor barrier on the inside face) and triple-pane wood windows for a tight thermal seal. The Port Richmond reading room featured a slightly arched ceiling with ornamental crown moldings, which Sheen wanted to highlight. Instead of suspending a tangle of sprinkler systems, ductwork, and other life safety systems from the ceiling, he decided to drop the ceiling 12 inches and hide the infrastructure above it. The team consulted original drawings and also 3D scanned the detailing in order to faithfully recreate it. Similarly, they also hid infrastructure behind walls, effectively shrinking the space by six to eight inches on each side. Loewenstein and her team used similar techniques at the Hunts Point location, a Carrere & Hastings building from 1929. There was more time in the design phase spent on what you don’t see, what’s hidden behind these walls than what the actual visitor experience is, Sheen says. And instead of visually hefty rows of fluorescent lighting illuminating the reading rooms, there are now halo-like LED pendants throughout. Because the Carnegie Libraries are on the smaller side, figuring out how to accommodate new uses was a challenge. At the Hunts Point library, Mitchell Giurgola integrated folding glass walls and doors into the reading rooms to define space while maintaining visual cohesion and daylight. At the Melrose branchwhich suffered a fire in the 1940s that reduced the four-story building to twoMitchell Giurgola was able to construct a new level thats dedicated to children. Since few original architectural details remained here, the design team integrated more contemporary elements, like floor-to-ceiling glass walls. Artwork was another important site-specific element for the renovations. NYPL hosted community engagement sessions with patrons to learn about what was most important to them and through this, they learned that the community around the Port Richmond branch, which is predominantly Hispanic, felt an affinity to butterflies and so a newly commissioned mural features the motif. It really brings that sense of identity to the branch, Gould says. Melrose Library [Photo: Albert Vecerka] The future of NYC library renovations The standards Mitchell Giurgola developed arent limited to the Carnegie Libraries. The design principles are relevant across the system, and so NYPL is using them to guide renovations across structures with different pedigrees. Gould is currently working on an overhaul of the Edenwald library, a 1970s structure in the Bronx. Its a squat Lindsay Box, the nickname for the inexpensive modular libraries constructed during the John V. Lindsay administration, with tiny windows. Gould plans to open the facade and better connect the interior to the neighborhood. We’re using a lot of the same themes, like access to natural light, she says. With the five renovations now complete, NYPL hopes to receive additional capital funding from the city in order to modernize more Carnegie branches. We want them to last for another hundred years, Gould says. As part of the fabric of New York, we think it’s just important to be stewards of these buildings and elevate them to what we think the public deserves.
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