The Agreement between the United States of America, the United Mexican States, and Canada, commonly known as the United States–Mexico–Canada Agreement (USMCA) in the United States and the Canada–United States–Mexico Agreement (CUSMA) in Canada, is a free trade agreement between Canada, Mexico, and the United States. It replaced the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) implemented in 1994, and is sometimes characterized as "NAFTA 2.0", or "New NAFTA", since it largely maintains or updates many provisions from its predecessor. USMCA resulted from renegotiations between the NAFTA member states beginning in 2017; characterized as "tumultuous", these centered primarily on "auto exports, steel and aluminum tariffs, and the dairy, egg, and poultry markets". All sides came to an informal agreement on September 30, 2018, which was formalized the following October 1. U.S. President Donald Trump proposed USMCA during the 2018 G20 Summit, where it was signed by Trump, Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto, and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. A revised version reflecting additional consultations was signed December 10, 2019 and ratified by all three countries, with Canada being the last to ratify on March 13, 2020. Following notification by all three governments that the provisions were ready for domestic implementation, the agreement came into effect on July 1, 2020. USMCA largely modernizes the 25-year-old NAFTA's provisions, namely with respect to intellectual property and digital trade, and borrows language from the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), of which Canada and Mexico are signatories. Key changes from its predecessor include increased environmental and working regulations; greater incentives for automobile production in the U.S. (with quotas for Canadian and Mexican automotive production); more access to Canada's dairy market; and an increased duty-free limit for Canadians who buy U.S. goods online. (Source: Wikipedia)
USMCA is a huge win for working people
The USMCA isn’t perfect – no deal ever is. But it’s a far cry from the original NAFTA, and that is a huge win for working people in North America. While it won’t bring back every job lost under NAFTA, it will help stop the bleeding and add important new protections for workers across the continent. We’re hopeful the USMCA can serve as a starting point for future trade negotiations. Working people, through our voices and votes, are changing the debate on trade. We have marched and organized for decades to build fairer workplaces and a more just society. That’s how we fought against the Trans-Pacific Partnership. It’s how we brought NAFTA back to the negotiating table. And it’s how we successfully negotiated a USMCA we can now support with pride. (Source: CNN)
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