Canada has officially kicked off the process of ratifying the new US Mexico Canada Agreement (USMCA), with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau notifying the country’s lawmakers he intends to bring forward legislation to ratify the deal, according to press reports.
Bloomberg News reported that Trudeau told lawmakers US President Trump’s decision to lift tariffs on steel and aluminium cleared the biggest obstacle to the country’s ratification of the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement.
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On 30 May, Trudeau met with US vice president Mike Pence, where ratification of the new NAFTA was discussed, along with the mutual opportunities for the deal.
“There is no relationship in the world quite like the Canada-US relationship. We know we are better off when we work together to grow the middle class and create more opportunities for people on both sides of the border. Vice president Pence’s visit was a chance to deepen the partnership between our two countries – a partnership that is essential to our shared security, prosperity, and to millions of middle-class jobs,” said Trudeau.
Trade between NAFTA members – Canada, the United States, and Mexico – was valued at nearly $1.5trn in 2018, according to the Prime Minister of Canada’s office.
However, at the end of last week, Trump moved to impose escalating tariffs on all goods imported from Mexico – beginning 10 June, a decision criticised as “unfathomable” by US apparel, footwear and textile groups.
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By GlobalDataIn a statement on 30 May, Trump said he would ramp-up tariffs on Mexican goods if illegal immigration is not checked.
The US will impose a 5% tariff on all Mexican imports from 10 June and duties of up to 25% will be added in the coming months if Mexico does not take action to “reduce or eliminate the number of illegal aliens” crossing into America. If the crisis persists, the tariffs will be raised to 10% on 1 July, increased to 15% on 1 August, to 20% on 1 September, and to 25% on 1 October 2019.
