If you’ve been following the recent headlines, you’ll have noticed that NAFTA has been back in the spotlight for quite some time. Most recently, the US and Mexico announced a bilateral trade deal on August 27th, which opened the door for Canada to rejoin the trade conversation before the August 31st deadline. Currently, NAFTA accounts for over $1 trillion in annual trade among the three nations.
But while many signs point to optimism toward Canada’s participation, does this mean the deal goes into place and all will be right with the world again? Not so much.
Even if the three nations come to an agreement on a path forward, any proposed new plan would need to run through the appropriate regulatory framework, meaning the House and Senate would need to give approvals before the President could sign an official deal. Additionally, the current NAFTA agreement would have to be terminated before the newly named deal could go into effect.
When we polled BDP’s customers at our Regulatory Compliance Seminar earlier this year, many felt that NAFTA was antiquated and needed an update. So, what types of changes would be involved with the Rules of Origin, if a new agreement goes into effect? It’s too soon to tell.
You might be asking, should I start renewing my NAFTA certificates? Personally, I would recommend waiting to see how the talks unfold before pursuing any fourth quarter certificate renewals. The situation is very fluid, and there are many unknown factors at this time.
Rest assured that BDP is closely monitoring the trade talks, and will continue to update our customers with any new of possible impacts on their North American supply chains.
