The Brave New World Keeps Spinning Around: North America

USMCA! USMCA! USMCA! USMACA! USMCA! USMACA! -----the new U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement.
"After 13 months of diplomatic negotiations, plus further political wrangling within Washington, a replacement for the North American Free Trade Agreement NAFTA takes effect on Wednesday with modest changes in some areas, significant additions in others. . ." and that new name"
Looks like E-Commerce and Digital Trade have changed the entire world everywhere. It's not just Politics like this point-of-view from Sarah Babbage writing in Bloomberg Politics
So has the 2020 COVID-19 PANDEMIC in ways we don't know about in these uncertain times - impacts yet to see.
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HALF-HEMISPHERE THINKING
IN A GLOBAL NETWORK
Here's some quick information from Bloomberg:

Why did Nafta have to be renegotiated?

Calling it the “worst deal in U.S. history,” Trump blamed Nafta for increasing the U.S. trade deficit and sending manufacturing jobs to Mexico.

Though economists argue over Nafta’s impact on the U.S., most objective analyses have found it didn’t cause major aggregate American job losses but also didn’t significantly boost gross domestic product there.

How will things improve for the U.S.?

The U.S. International Trade Commission found it will boost U.S. trade with Mexico and Canada by about 5% overall, resulting in a 0.35% GDP increase in its sixth year. It will increase U.S. workers’ annual incomes by an average of $150 and increase employment by 0.12%, or roughly 176,000 jobs. Trump has said the pact could bring more than 1 million jobs to the U.S., far beyond other estimates.

Is everyone so positive?

An International Monetary Fund assessment was less rosy for the U.S. It said the agreement will reduce the country’s “welfare” (a measurement of consumption) by $794 million, while boosting Canada’s by $734 million and Mexico’s by $597 million -- “relatively small” effects at the aggregate level.

Just implementing the deal will benefit businesses by providing increased certainty about the future. . ."                ._________________________________________________________________________

POLITICS

So Long, Nafta; Hello, USMCA. What You Need to Know: QuickTake

By Sarah Babbage

As a candidate in 2016, President Donald Trump pledged to renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement and to terminate it “if we don’t get the deal we want.” After 13 months of diplomatic negotiations, plus further political wrangling within Washington, a replacement takes effect on Wednesday with modest changes in some areas, significant additions in others and a new name, the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement.

June 30, 2020

The Reference Shelf

• The Congressional Research Service summarizes key provisions in the USMCA.
• A side-by-side comparison of Nafta and USMCA.
• These were five sticking points that leaders of the three countries had to work out.
• The African continent is seizing the title of world’s largest free-trade zone.
• A Council on Foreign Relations review of Nafta’s economic impact
• From Bloomberg Government, everything you need to know about the USMCA.
• Summary of changes that U.S. Democrats negotiated in the agreement.

— With assistance by Erik Wasson

Published on ‎November‎ ‎26‎, ‎2019‎ ‎9‎:‎37‎ ‎AM
Updated on ‎June‎ ‎29‎, ‎2020‎ ‎9‎:‎00‎ ‎PM

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