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). On March 13, 2020, the House of Commons passed The USMCA Implementation Act C-4 before being exposed for 6 weeks due to the COVID 19 pandemic. Due to „exceptional circumstances,“ the third and final reading of the act was passed in the absence of a roll call vote, as part of an omnibus adjournment motion that was unanimously adopted by all members present. [102] Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was not present because he was at home in self-isolation after his wife, Sophie Grégoire Trudeau, tested positive for a covid-19 infection. On the same day, the Senate passed the first, second and third readings of the recorded voiceless legislation,[103] and Governor General Julie Payette signed it shortly thereafter and concluded that Canada would ratify the legislation. [99] [100] [4] The agreement does not affect EU or Mexican law: the parties agree to establish important procedural safeguards for the recognition of new geographical indications (G.G.I.A.), including strong standards of protection against the issuance of geographical indications that would prevent the United States from using common denominations, and the establishment of a consultation mechanism between the contracting parties on future geographical indications in accordance with international agreements. NAFTA has three primary dispute resolution mechanisms. Chapter 20 is the settlement mechanism for countries. It is often considered the least controversial of the three mechanisms, and has been maintained in its original form from NAFTA to the USMCA. In such cases, complaints filed by USMCA Member States against the duration of the contract would be violated. [48] In Chapter 19, the justifications for anti-dumping or countervailing duties are managed. Without Chapter 19, the avenue of recourse for the management of these policies would be through the national legal system.
Chapter 19 provides that an USMCA body hears the case and acts as an international commercial tribunal to arbitrate the dispute. [48] The Trump administration has attempted to remove Chapter 19 of the new USMCA text, which until now existed in the agreement. Trade statistics and details of the existing trade agreement In order to facilitate the strengthening of cross-border trade, the United States has reached an agreement with Mexico and Canada to increase the value of de minimis delivery.