Canada/U.S. border signage in downtown Detroit. (RiverNorthPhotography/Getty Images)

CUSMA pact to take effect July 1, USTR says

Reading Time: < 1 minute Washington | Reuters — U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer on Friday said he has notified Congress that the new U.S.-Mexico-Canada trade agreement will take effect on July 1, a month later than initially proposed. In a statement, Lighthizer said both Mexico and Canada had taken measures necessary to comply with their commitments under the U.S.-Mexico-Canada […] Read more

File photo of Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland in the House of Commons in Ottawa on March 9, 2020. (Photo: Reuters/Blair Gable)

Parliament hustles through CUSMA ratification

Implementing bill passes before Commons adjourns until April 20

Reading Time: 2 minutes Ottawa | Reuters — Canada’s Parliament rushed through ratification of the new Canada-U.S.-Mexico (CUSMA) trade pact on Friday before taking a three-week break to help stop the spread of the coronavirus, a top government official said. Canada was the last of the three signatories to formally adopt the pact, prompting congratulations from the United States […] Read more



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U.S. House passes CUSMA

Reading Time: < 1 minute Washington | Reuters — The U.S. House of Representatives on Thursday backed a new trade agreement with neighbouring Mexico and Canada in a 385-41 bipartisan vote, sending the NAFTA replacement measure to the Senate for consideration early in 2020. Democrats, who control the House, approved the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (CUSMA) more than a year after […] Read more


Prime Minister Justin Trudeau speaks during Question Period in the House of Commons on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Dec. 11, 2019. (Photo: Reuters/Blair Gable)

Canada could be last to ratify CUSMA deal, Trudeau says

Reading Time: < 1 minute Ottawa | Reuters — Canada could be the last of the three North American countries to ratify a new trade deal, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Tuesday, indicating that his plan to match the U.S. timetable was set to fail. Trudeau’s Liberal government said from the start it wanted to work in tandem with […] Read more

Canada/U.S. border signage in downtown Detroit. (RiverNorthPhotography/Getty Images)

A ‘little more work’ needed on CUSMA deal, Trudeau says

Reading Time: < 1 minute Ottawa | Reuters — Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Friday said a little more work needed to be done on a new continental trade deal which has run into opposition from some U.S. Democrats over labour and environmental provisions. Officials are trying to agree on a series of tweaks to the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (CUSMA) […] Read more



A Mexican port-of-entry sign on Highway 92 near Naco, Arizona. (Rex_Wholster/iStock/Getty Images)

Mexico becomes first country to ratify USMCA deal

Reading Time: 2 minutes Mexico City | Reuters — Mexico on Wednesday became the first country to ratify the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) agreed late last year to replace the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) at the behest of U.S. President Donald Trump. By a vote of 114 in favour to four against, Mexico’s Senate backed the trade […] Read more


(Photo courtesy Architect of the Capitol, VisitTheCapitol.gov)

Trudeau to meet with Pelosi, McConnell on USMCA

Reading Time: 2 minutes Washington | Reuters — Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau this week is set to meet with Nancy Pelosi, speaker of the Democrat-controlled U.S. House of Representatives, and U.S. Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell, a Republican, in a bid to fast-track passage of a delayed trade deal, two congressional aides said on Monday. Trudeau is to […] Read more

(Canada Border Services Agency video screengrab)

Mexico, Canada plow ahead on trade pact ratification despite Trump threats

Reading Time: 2 minutes Mexico City/Ottawa | Reuters — Mexico and Canada said on Friday they would proceed with plans to ratify a new continental trade pact despite a new threat from U.S. President Donald Trump that critics say could undermine chances of the treaty coming into force. Trump, whose administration has made passing the United States-Mexico-Canada (USMCA) free […] Read more