Friction in North America after one year of trade deal

Washington, DC, June 27: One year after it took effect in the midst of a record economic downturn, the United StatesMexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) has yet to end trading friction between the North American allies.

The three countries said the new treaty would benefit their economies and workers but, as the anniversary nears on Thursday, the neighbors have already entered into a range of disputes — many of which have seen the United States object to Mexican or Canadian practices.

“Most of the focus on USMCA over the next several years is going to be on the disputes,” said Edward Alden, an expert at the Council on Foreign Relations.

USMCA replaced the North American Free Trade Agreement, which had been in force since 1994, and which Alden said had envisioned the continent’s three economies at one point becoming a single market, like the European Union.

That vision appears to be dead, at least for now.

“USMCA is very much the rules for three separate North American economies to cooperate, where they can, and rules for fighting where they can’t cooperate,” Alden said.

While the disputes between the countries have made headlines, Jeffrey Schott, a senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics, credited the deal with “removing the cloud of uncertainty”over continental commerce.

“That creates a better atmosphere for trade and investment than we’ve had in some time,” he said.