The U.S., Mexico and Canada have formally signed the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement, more commonly known as the USMCA, during the G20 summit in Buenos Aires earlier today. The signed deal does not signify that the agreement is ratified and in effect, however. The U.S. Congress has a lengthy ratification process, and the outcome of that process for USMCA is far from certain, particularly given the election of a Democratic majority in the house of Representative earlier this month. The legislatures of Canada and Mexico must also give their approval.
The USMCA has notable changes from the current NAFTA, for example the American dairy industry stands to gain increased access to the Canadian market. On the contrary, the Automotive Industry will see less benefit with more stringent Rules of Origin to qualify products from the agreement. According to Forbes, several U.S. senators have expressed reservations about the deal. "There isn't a single automaker that prefers the new rules to the old rules of origin," said a former U.S. trade official who asked not to be named for business reasons. "It's simply a matter of accepting there are going to be changes, and can they live with them?"
MIC professionals are working diligently to stay abreast of the USMCA developments and how the new agreement will affect current customers using the Origin Calculation System (OCS). Over the next weeks team members will be scheduling customer specific workshops to understand the impact on each company’s processes, data and interfaces.
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MIC is the world's leading provider of global customs and trade compliance software solutions. This means: MIC customs and trade compliance software is used by over 700 customers in more than 50 countries on six continents.
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