Canada, Mexico, U.S. Sign New Trade Pact

Today the leaders of the U.S., Canada and Mexico signed a trade pact intended to succeed the North American Free Trade Agreement.

The ceremony during this week’s G20 summit meeting in Buenos Aires, Argentina, caps bruising negotiations and political posturing. “It’s been a battle,” acknowledges President Donald Trump, who launched the negotiations in August 2017 after condemning NAFTA as the “worst trade deal ever.”

Called the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement, the pact now faces months of ratification by the legislatures of the three countries. In the U.S., Democrats promise a fight to make the deal stronger on worker pay, job generation and environmental protection.

Trump predicts easy passage for the USMCA. So does U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer, who expects ample support from Democrats. “The negotiations are not going to be reopened,” he declares. “The agreement’s been signed.”

Skeptics, including auto industry groups, caution that the new agreement adds complex compliance standards that could discourage future investment in the region. The accord raises the local content requirement to 75% from 62.5% and stipulates that 40% of a vehicle’s content must be made by workers who are paid at least $16 per hour.