Delaying the Trump administration’s planned June 1 implementation date for the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) is being called for by a bipartisan group of Senate Finance Committee members.
“A long experience of incomplete and inadequate implementation by trade agreement partners has taught us that the United States must do this work on the front end to ensure that the words on paper deliver genuine benefits to Americans, including our farmers, workers, and businesses,” the letter said. “We urge you to seriously reconsider the proposed June 1 entry into force of USMCA, particularly in light of the significant public health crisis and supply chain disruptions caused by COVID-19.”
But even without the COVID-19 situation, the lawmakers said the June 1 deadline would be “highly aggressive, and raises questions as to whether businesses have the information they need to adjust to the new rules and comply by that date.” They also cited both Trade Promotion Authority (TPA) provisions and the USMCA Implementation Act as preventing the agreement from coming into force before Canada and Mexico show their “full adherence” to their USMCA commitments.
While Senate Finance Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, and Ranking Member Ron Wyden, D-Ore., signed the letter, not all members of the panel from both parties signed onto the effort.
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