CFR`s Edward Alden says fear of trade deals has increased because wages have not kept up with labor productivity, while income inequality has increased. To some extent, he says, trade agreements have accelerated the pace of these changes because they have „strengthened the globalization of the U.S. economy.” The renegotiated agreement contains a chapter on macroeconomic policies and exchange rate issues, with new political and transparency commitments in monetary matters. The chapter will address unfair monetary practices by requiring high obligations in the absence of competitive devaluations and exchange rates, while significantly enhancing transparency and putting in place accountability mechanisms. This approach is unprecedented in the context of a trade agreement and will contribute to strengthening macroeconomic and exchange rate stability. This agreement is the result of a renegotiation between the member states of the North American Free Trade Agreement from 2017 to 2018, which informally agreed on the terms of the new agreement on 30 September 2018 and formally on 1 October. [10] Proposed by US President Donald Trump, the USMCA was signed on November 30, 2018 by Mr. Trump, Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau as a secondary event to the G20 summit in Buenos Aires in 2018. A revised version was signed on December 10, 2019 and ratified by all three countries, with final ratification (Canada) taking place on March 13, 2020, just before the postponement of the Canadian Parliament due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Such benefits of trade often escape attention, because although the costs are highly concentrated in certain sectors such as auto manufacturing, the benefits of an agreement such as NAFTA are widely distributed across society. PROPONENTS of NAFTA estimate that about fourteen million U.S. jobs depend on trade with Canada or Mexico and that the nearly two hundred thousand export-related jobs created each year by the pact pay an average of 15 to 20 percent more than the jobs lost. Check out our webinar for an expert`s perspective on the new trade deal. Register (June 23, 2020 edition) The United States, Mexico and Canada have reached an agreement to modernize the 25-year-old NAFTA into a high-level agreement of the twenty-first century. . . .