US, Mexico, Canada sign a new NAFTA (USMCA Agreement)

The United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, or USMCA, will replace the current NAFTA agreement that governs trade in North America. The trade agreement has been negotiated by the governments of The United States, Mexico and Canada, but still must be ratified be certain groups within these governments.

The trade agreement will have a big impact on many parts of the economy. There will be winners and losers.

USMCA.com was created to make it easy to search the agreement and comment on different aspects of it.

Remarkable points:

• The Parties affirm their rights and obligations under the WTO Agreement on Trade

• Each Party shall, through its customs administration, issue a written advance ruling, prior to the importation of a good into its territory that sets forth the treatment that the Party shall provide to

• Each Party shall establish or maintain a single window system no later than December 31

• Each Party shall apply its customs procedures related to the importation, exportation and transit of goods in a manner that is transparent, predictable, and consistent throughout its territory

• Each Party shall maintain a risk management system for assessment and targeting that enables its customs administration, and other agencies involved in the process for cross border trade to focus its inspection activities on high-risk goods and that simplifies the release and movement of low-risk goods

• With a view to expediting the release of goods, each Party shall adopt or maintain post- clearance audit to ensure compliance with its customs and other related laws and regulations.Each Party shall conduct post-clearance audits in a risk-based manner.Each Party shall conduct post-clearance audits in a transparent manner. Where an audit is conducted and conclusive results have been achieved the Party shall, without delay, notify the person whose records are audited of the audit results, the basis of the results, and the audited person’s rights and obligations.

• Each Party shall maintain a trade facilitation partnership program for operators who meet specified security criteria, hereinafter, referred to as Authorized Economic Operator “AEO” programs, in accordance with the Framework of Standards to Secure and Facilitate Global Trade of the World Customs Organization.The Parties shall endeavor to cooperate by:(a)       exchanging experiences on the operation of and improvements to  each respectiveAEO program, seeking to adopt, if appropriate, best practices;(b)       exchanging  information  with  each  other  on  the  operators  authorized  by  each program in accordance with each Party’s law and established processes; and (c)       collaborating in the identification and implementation of trade facilitation benefits for operators authorized by the other Parties.

• With a view to providing effective, impartial, and easily accessible procedures for review and appeal of administrative determinations on customs matters, each Party shall ensure that any person to whom a customs administration issues a determination has access to: (a)        an administrative appeal to or a review of the determination, by an administrative authority higher than or independent of the employee or office that issued the determination; and (b)        a quasi-judicial or judicial review or appeal of the determination or decision made at the final level of an administrative review.

• Each Party shall adopt or maintain measures that allow for the imposition of a penalty by a Party’s customs administration for breach of its customs laws, regulations, or procedural requirements, including those governing tariff classification, customs valuation, transit procedures, country of origin, and claims for preferential treatment. Each Party shall ensure that such measures are administered in a uniform manner throughout its territory.