U.S., Mexico and Canada Sign New USMCA Trade Deal

The leaders of Canada, Mexico and the United States have signed the United States -Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), the next step toward replacing the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), which governs more than $1.2 trillion of mutual trade.

The USMCA includes 34 chapters, including new ones covering digital trade, intellectual property, anticorruption and good regulatory practices, and it contains new tariff schedules, labor laws and rules on which products can legally be imported or exported, including updated settlements and protections on textiles, agriculture and digital trade. The labor mobility provisions of the new pact, largely the same as those of NAFTA, ease the cross-border movement of businesspersons, certain professionals, intracompany transferees, traders and investors.

The agreement must now be ratified by the legislatures of the three countries before it can be implemented. Ratification is expected to take place in 2019. According to the U.S. Trade Representative, “when finalized and implemented, the agreement will create more balanced, reciprocal trade that supports high-paying jobs for Americans and grows the North American economy.”

Source: USTR.