NAFTA Versus USMCA: Taxes, Tariffs, And Trade In North America

Source: Forbes, 01/22/2020

In this episode of Tax Notes Talk, Tax Notes contributing editor Robert Goulder discusses the decades-old North American Free Trade Agreement, the new U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), and what these agreements mean for the future of taxes, tariffs, and trade in North America.

Robert Goulder commented on the differences of the NAFTA and USMCA.

“They look a lot more like conventional legislation than they do a full-on treaty. The Senate Foreign Relations Committee, for example, is not going to have primary domain over this. It’s going to be the Senate Finance Committee. So, it looks like a treaty, and it feels like a treaty. But procedurally, it’s going to resemble just basic legislation.” Read more.

To learn more about the USMCA deal, visit the Mexico Institute’s NAFTA and USMCA Resource Page. 

Trump Pushed Mexico to Block Its Border. A Migrant Caravan Tests It.

Source: The New York Times, 1/23/2020

Pressured by threats from President Trump, Mexico beefed up security on its border with Guatemala. We witnessed a confrontation with the first migrant caravan of 2020.

“Last year, President Trump threatened Mexico with import tariffs if the country didn’t seal its southern border. So Mexico deployed a newly formed security force to block migrants from entering. Now this wave of some 4,000 migrants is putting enforcement here to its latest test.”

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Alarm at Mexico butterfly conservationist’s disappearance

January 21, 2020

Source: BBC

Homero Gómez manages a butterfly sanctuary in western Michoacán state, a region which is notorious for its violent criminal gangs.

Rights groups fear illegal loggers may have targeted Mr Gómez for his activism to conserve the local forest which is the home of the monarch butterfly.

He was last seen on 13 January.

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Senate approves new USMCA trade deal with Canada and Mexico

Source: Washington Post

January 16, 2020

 

The Senate approved a sweeping economic pact between the United States, Canada and Mexico on Thursday, delivering on President Trump’s promise of a new and better North American trade deal just ahead of his impeachment trial.

 

The vote was 89-10 as an overwhelming majority of senators of both parties supported the agreement, as expected. Last month, the House of Representatives approved the revised agreement by a similarly wide margin, after months of negotiations between Democrats and the White House produced pro-labor revisions and jettisoned drug exclusivity language sought by the pharmaceutical industry.

 

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While you’re here, don’t forget to check out our extensive research on the USMCA here.

Mexico union threatens Home Depot strike, inspired by USMCA trade deal

Date: January 15, 2020
Source: Reuters
By: Daina Beth Solomon

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) – Spurred on by labor protections in the new North American trade deal, a top Mexican trade union has accused Home Depot of blocking union activity and threatened strikes next week if the U.S. home improvement chain does not improve pay and benefits for workers.

The Revolutionary Confederation of Laborers and Farmworkers, or CROC, is pressing for a 20% raise, benefits such as 20 annual vacation days and more contributions toward transportation, school supplies, food and savings funds.

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For more information and a deep analysis of the USMCA, don’t forget to visit our website.

China invests $600 million into Mexico’s Dos Bocas refinery

January 14, 2020

Source: Houston Chronicle
By: Sergio Chapa

During a Monday morning event in Mexico City, China’s ambassador to Mexico Zhu Qingqiao announced that the Bank of China and the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, or IDBC, would invest $600 million into the Dos Bocas Refinery.

Already under construction in the southern coastal state of Tabasco, the refinery project is designed to process 340,000 barrels of heavy crude oil per day into gasoline, diesel and other products.

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At Least Three Chinese Automakers Eyeing Expansion in Mexico

January 13, 2020

Source: The New York Times

MEXICO CITY — At least three Chinese automakers are preparing to produce vehicles in Mexico or expand existing operations, the Mexican ambassador to China said on Monday, in what would be a boost to one of the Latin American country’s top export industries.

Jose Luis Bernal, Mexico’s ambassador to China, said that over the past year and a half his office has seen more interest from Chinese firms looking to make cars in Mexico.

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