The New NAFTA Has Arrived! CUSMA USMCA T-MEC

One trade agreement, 3 different names

The 3 countries have created a new trade agreement to be headlined with their own country effective July 1, 2020

• CUSMA – Canada – United States – Mexico Agreement
• USMCA – United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement
• T-MEC – Treaty between Mexico, the United States and Canada

What you need to know:

• Goods imported from the US, Canada or Mexico may still qualify as duty-free with a signed declaration
• Be sure you get the Origin Declaration signed from your supplier
• If you are paying duty on items from the US, Canada or Mexico, you may qualify for a refund in Duty

Important Date: July 1, 2020

Next Steps:

To ensure all your imports from the US, Canada or Mexico have the most beneficial rate of duty applied by acquiring the signed and dated origin declaration for your shipments.

Do I actually need to do anything right now?:

NO
A & A will take care of you and follow up with you if any shipments require a certificate to make sure you are using the proper trade agreements. When we ask, we may need you to help convince a supplier to sign a new CUSMA/USMA/T-MEC. To be pro-active, the sooner you get the new certificate – link here – to your suppliers, the sooner they will start using it.

Further reading:

The US-Mexico-Canada (USMCA) / Canada-US-Mexico (CUSMA) / México-Estados Unidos-Canadá (T-MEC) agreement is replacing the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA)

Ongoing certification of products is still important for the new agreement.  A new USMCA / CUSMA / T-MEC certificate doesn’t currently exist.  Our recommendation is to prepare a certification statement that includes the required minimum data requirements.
ANNEX 5-A Minimum Data Requirements

We’ve provided a suggested format to assist our customers with certifying products under the USMCA / CUSMA / T-MEC. Link here.

The USMCA / CUSMA / T-MEC will come into force on July 1, 2020, continuing the elimination of most of the customs duties on goods imported from the US, Canada or Mexico.

CBSA CUSMA Website

USMCA / CUSMA / T-MEC Text

USMCA CUSMA Chapter 4 Rules of Origin

USMCA CUSMA Chapter 5 Origin Procedures

Contact the experts:

Contact one of our Compliance Specialists if you have any questions: consulting@aacb.com

Or by phone:
Les Suzuki 
604-542-7239
Tamra Johnson 
604-542-7203
Margaret Klatt
604-542-7281