Once again, former President Donald Trump is promising to rewrite a trade deal with Mexico and Canada in order to rescue American industry and create employment.
This time, however, he wants to renegotiate his own trade agreement rather than replacing the North American Free Trade Agreement, or NAFTA, which he has frequently called the "worst trade deal ever made."
In 2018, Trump ratified the USMCA, or the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement. January 2020 saw its implementation, replacing NAFTA.
The USMCA, according to Trump in 2018, will be "the most modern, up-to-date, and balanced trade agreement in our country's history, with the most advanced worker protections ever developed."
Now though, he believes it could be better.
Trump declared last week at a speech at the Detroit Economic Club, "Upon taking office, I will formally notify Mexico and Canada of my intention to invoke the six-year renegotiation provision of the USMCA that I put in."
A provision in the USMCA mandates that the three signatory nations evaluate the agreement after six years.
In an interview that aired on Sunday, Trump said that his proposal to renegotiate the USMCA would not jeopardize the agreement he crafted when pressed about it by Fox News' Maria Bartiromo.
"I want to improve the agreement significantly. "I want to capitalize on the auto industry right now," he declared.
Harris also desires a USMCA review.
Additionally, Vice President Kamala Harris declared that the USMCA review procedure would be employed.
Among the ten US senators who voted against USMCA at the time was Harris, the current Democratic presidential hopeful.
In a statement last week, she stated, "I knew it was not sufficient to protect our country and its workers."
Harris expressed her concerns that the USMCA's environmental provisions would not go far enough to address climate change after the Senate vote in 2020.
This is what the USMCA contains.
A large portion of USMCA is just an update to the 25-year-old NAFTA.
A new incentive to produce cars and trucks in North America was one of the largest improvements. Up from the previous 62.5% requirement, the USMCA now mandates that 75% of a vehicle's parts be produced in one of the three nations in order to avoid tariffs when traveling across borders.
Additionally, more auto parts have to be produced by employees making at least $16 per hour.
In a section on digital trade that wasn't included in the original NAFTA, the trade agreement brought about significant new benefits for the technology industry.
There were also stringent labor laws and environmental safeguards.
