The agreement is designated differently by each signatory – in the United States, it is called the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA); [1] [23] in Canada, it is officially known as the Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA) in English[24] and the Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement (ACEUM) in French; [25] and in Mexico, tratado is called tratado between México, Estados Unidos y Canadé (T-MEC). [26] [27] The agreement is sometimes referred to as „New NAFTA“[28][29] with respect to the previous trilateral agreement for the successor, the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). The renegotiated agreement contains a chapter on macroeconomic policies and exchange rate issues, with new political and transparent monetary commitments. The chapter will address unfair monetary practices by requiring high-level commitments to avoid any devaluation of competition and to target exchange rates, while significantly increasing transparency and providing accountability mechanisms. This approach is unprecedented in the framework of a trade agreement and will contribute to strengthening macroeconomic stability and exchange rates. On December 19, 2019, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the USMCA with multiparty support with 385 votes (Democracy 193, Republican 192) to 41 (Democracy 38, Republican 2, Independent 1). [79] On January 16, 2020, the U.S. Senate passed the trade agreement by 89 votes (Democrats 38, Republicans 51) to 10 (Democracy 8, Republican 1, Independent 1)[80] and the bill was forwarded to the White House for the signature of Donald Trump. [81] On January 29, 2020, Trump signed the agreement (Public Law No: 116-113).
[82] NAFTA has been formally amended,[83] but not the 1989 Canada-U.S. Free Trade Agreement, which is only „suspended.“ [84] [85] On June 1, 2020, USTR Robert Lighthizer`s office unlocked the uniform rules, which are the final hurdle before the agreement is implemented on July 1, 2020. The text of the agreement is available here: ustr.gov/trade-agreements/free-trade-agreements/united-states-mexico-canada-agreement/uniform-regulations enhanced IP protection. The new IP chapter is more than 60 pages long and provides stricter guarantees for patents and trademarks, including biotechs, financial services and even domain names. Many economists and legal experts felt that these updates were necessary, given that the original agreement was negotiated 25 years ago. On December 10, 2019, the three countries reached a revised USMCA agreement. On January 29, 2020, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs Chrystia Freeland introduced the USMCA C-4 Transposition Act in the House of Commons[93] and passed the first reading without a registered vote.
