WASHINGTON — The U.S., Mexico, and Canada signed the recently negotiated United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) on the sidelines of the G-20 summit. The USMCA is the successor to the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA); a number of chapters were updated and new trade chapters were added.
Agreement highlights include creating a more level playing field for American workers, including improved rules of origin for automobiles, trucks, other products, and disciplines on currency manipulation; benefiting American farmers, ranchers, and agribusinesses by modernizing and strengthening food and agriculture trade in North America; supporting a 21st Century economy through new protections for U.S. intellectual property, and ensuring opportunities for trade in U.S. services; and new chapters covering digital trade, anticorruption, and good regulatory practices, as well as a chapter devoted to ensuring that small and medium sized enterprises benefit from the agreement.