Last night, an agreement was reached in the NAFTA negotiations between Canada and the United States.
Global Affairs Canada released a joint statement from United States Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland.
“Today, Canada and the United States reached an agreement, alongside Mexico, on a new, modernized trade agreement for the 21st Century: the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA). USMCA will give our workers, farmers, ranchers, and businesses a high-standard trade agreement that will result in freer markets, fairer trade and robust economic growth in our region. It will strengthen the middle class, and create good, well-paying jobs and new opportunities for the nearly half billion people who call North America home. We look forward to further deepening our close economic ties when this new agreement enters into force. We would like to thank Mexican Economy Secretary Ildefonso Guajardo for his close collaboration over the past 13 months.”
The new United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement is expected to be signed into effect at the end of November. Early reports indicate that the deal includes IP protection, stronger labour provisions, incentives for auto production in the U.S., new market access for U.S. farmers into Canada including dairy, however, there was no mention of steel and aluminum.
For the full text of the agreement, see the Office of the United States Trade Representative website.