Tagged: TPA

International Trade

US-Mexico-Canada Agreement Faces Uncertain Path Through U.S. Congress

The governments of the United States, Mexico, and Canada signed a trade agreement (“USMCA”) in November 2018, which would replace the existing North American Free Trade Agreement (“NAFTA”). The Trump administration has begun seeking support in the U.S. Congress for USMCA. The path for the agreement, however, remains uncertain, with criticisms leveled against USMCA from both Democrats and Republicans. USMCA will adjust the existing NAFTA trade framework in certain ways, such as increasing the regional content requirement for automotive goods, providing greater market access in Canada for U.S. milk producers, and requiring Mexico to implement measures that will enhance organized labor activities. In addition, the USMCA contains new provisions that were unaddressed by...

International Trade

NAFTA Replacement Announced

On Sunday, September 30, 2018, the U.S. and Canadian governments announced that they had reached agreement on a new trilateral trade agreement with Mexico, which will replace the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). This long-awaited text, released late in the day as the “United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA),” is now available for public inspection.[1] The two governments announced this agreement just before a key deadline was set to expire at midnight. As reported in May 2017,[2] the Trump Administration commenced a process to renegotiate NAFTA, citing the need to update the cornerstone trilateral agreement that has governed trade among the three countries since 1994. At that time, U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer informed...

International Trade

Trump Administration Announces NAFTA Renegotiation

After months of public pronouncements on the future, including threatened withdrawal from, the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), the Trump Administration announced on May 18, 2017, its intention to begin negotiations with Canada and Mexico. Signed by Robert Lighthizer, the newly confirmed U.S. Trade Representative, the notification letters to Congressional leaders do not contain any details on specific targets for negotiations. The letters describe instead broad aims for discussions with U.S. Congressional leaders and industry constituents, and the administration’s intention to begin negotiations with Canadian and Mexican counterparts in mid-August or later. President Trump previously railed against NAFTA and its alleged impact on the U.S. manufacturing sector. However, the agreement’s impact has...