Supply Chain Businesses to See the Transition Effect from NAFTA to USMCA

The U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement entered into force Wednesday morning after three years of trilateral negotiations, trade disputes and amendments by the U.S. Congress. While the agreement has been hailed for raising standards for and increasing enforcement of certain labor, environmental, pharmaceutical and digital trade provisions, shippers are still struggling to determine how the transition from the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) to the USMCA will impact their business. During a Flexport webinar on June 17, 60% of respondents to an attendee poll said they will "probably make some changes, but I’m not sure what I need to do" in order to remain in compliance and take full advantage of potential trade benefits under the new rules. "I actually wasn’t surprised," Tom Gould, VP of customs and trade advisory at Flexport, told Supply Chain Dive in an interview. "The devil is in the details," and a lot of the regulations in NAFTA and the USMCA are highly product-specific, he said.