International Trade Today is providing readers with the top stories from last week in case they were missed. All articles can be found by searching on the titles or by clicking on the hyperlinked reference number.
USMCA
The U.S.-Mexico-Canada agreement is a free trade agreement between the three countries, also known as CUSMA in Canada and T-MEC in Mexico. Replacing the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) in 2020, the agreement contains a unique sunset provision where, after six years (in 2026), any of the three parties may decide not to continue the agreement in its current form and begin a period of up to 10 years where USMCA provisions may be renegotiated.
The U.S. and Mexico have been consulting about U.S. complaints about favoritism to Mexican energy providers for 11 months, with no public movement toward a dispute settlement panel, and Karen Antebi, a former NAFTA negotiator, said she doesn't expect that to change in the next year.
The U.S. invoked the rapid response labor mechanism for a lead, zinc and cooper mine owned by Grupo Mexico, the second time the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative has used the USMCA tool outside the auto parts sector.
The U.S. is trying to negotiate with Canada and Mexico on auto rules of origin details, rather than complying with a dispute settlement panel decision that originating supercore parts are considered 100% North American as you calculate the vehicle regional value content, according to the leader of the trade group that represents Detroit's Big Three automakers.
The bipartisan sponsors of The Americas Act, an ambitious bill that would invite most Central and South American countries into USMCA and offer funds to companies moving production from China to the U.S. or an Americas Act country, as well as covering diplomatic and temporary work visas, said they are working to line up support in Congress, talking to the administration, and talking to Western Hemisphere countries that could benefit from the policy, in an effort to get the bill passed.
The U.S. is asking Mexico to review whether an Industrias del Interior (INISA) garment factory near Aguascalientes is coercing workers by favoring workers who support the company's collective bargaining agreement and disciplining -- and dismissing -- workers if they support the union Sindicato de Industrias del Interior. The administration made the announcement June 12. It is the first complaint not in the auto sector.
International Trade Today is providing readers with the top stories from last week in case they were missed. All articles can be found by searching on the titles or by clicking on the hyperlinked reference number.
The U.S. asked for formal dispute settlement consultations with Mexico over its policies on biotech products, but did not commit to moving forward with a panel request if the consultations are not fruitful within 75 days. That's the earliest a panel could be requested under USMCA.
CBP issued the following releases on commercial trade and related matters:
House Ways and Means Trade Subcommittee Chairman Adrian Smith, R-Neb., Rep. Michelle Fischbach, R-Minn., and 62 other Republican members, including Ways and Means Chairman Jason Smith, R-Mo., asked U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai to open a formal dispute under USMCA over Mexico's treatment of biotech corn imports.