US, Canada And Mexico Sign A Revised NAFTA 2.0
On December 10, 2019, the US House Democrats announced their backing of a renegotiated US-Mexico-Canada (USMCA) trade agreement and the three countries’ representatives signed the revised deal in Mexico City.
The US Congress and Senate now must ratify the revamped USMCA. This likely will not begin until after the expected impeachment trial of the US President. It is predicted that the US Congress will take it up in January or February of 2020.
For Canada, both the elected House of Commons and the appointed Senate must approve the agreement. This process is straightforward and would take no longer than a couple of weeks. The Canadian parliament is due to go on winter break on December 13, 2019 and is scheduled back January 27, 2020.
Mexico’s Senate passed the original USMCA earlier this year and must now approve the modifications. Mexico’s Senate plans to take this up on Tuesday, December 17, 2019 and after being analyzed will likely pass fairly quickly.
So, NAFTA 2.0 will likely take effect in early 2020.
The revamped USMCA made two big revisions: it updated a lot of provisions around intellectual property, pharmaceuticals and the digital economy. Second, it includes more environmental and labor protections.
Canada listed the changes at: Summary of revised outcomes
To get a full understanding of the differences between NAFTA and the USMCA refer to our blog: USMCA Details | United States Mexico Canada Agreement | NAFTA 2.0
Until the USMCA is ratified and in force, the current procedures and documents under NAFTA are still required.
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If you have any questions about the USMCA do not hesitate to contact one of our experienced experts at PCB.
