Reviewing the USMCA
Pursuant to the review of the USMCA provided for in Article 34.7, USTR has requested comments and is holding a hearing. USTR's comments portal shows 1,515 comments submitted, so a lot of people had things to say!
Topic
USMCA
18 posts
Lessons from the First U.S. Win in a Trade and Labor Dispute: The USMCA RRM Atento Decision
For the first time, an arbitral panel has sided with the United States in a trade and labor dispute. On August 21, the United States and Mexico announced the publication of the second panel decision under the USMCA/T-MEC/CUSMA Facility-Specific Rapid Response Labor Mechanism (RRM).
The USMCA Rapid Response Mechanism: What Do Workers Expect?
I want to thank Kathleen Claussen for succinctly summarizing last week’s Second USMCA Rapid Response Labor Panel. Many of us missed the panel discussion while participating in the fantastic ASIL International Economic Law Interest Group Biennial Conference (my kudos to the organizers).
Professor Claussen points out the Mexican government’
Second USMCA Rapid Response Labor Panel Hears Arguments in Mexico
On May 15 and 16, the second panel convened under the USMCA/TMEC/CUSMA Facility-Specific Rapid Response Labor Mechanism (RRM) held a hearing in Mexico to review the arguments of Mexico and the United States concerning worker rights at Atento Servicios, S.A. de C.V. (MEX-USA-2024-31A-01). This panel proceeding
Collective Economic Security
Collective Economic Security
By Mona Paulsen (LSE Law) and Dan Ciuriak (C.D. Howe (Senior Fellow))
With a flurry of pomp and circumstance, the second Trump administration has reset United States trade with its trading partners. Based on U.S. laws that afford wide Executive discretion towards trade actions owing
The USMCA Review (If the USMCA Survives!) Needs To Address the National Security Loophole
I don't know if the USMCA is going to survive all the U.S. tariffs on Canada and Mexico, along with the Canadian and Mexican retaliation. Will the agreement make it to the USMCA review next year? We'll see.
If we do make it though, I
Will a "Zombie USMCA" Survive the Tariff Onslaught?
With all the tariffs imposed by the Trump administration on Canada and Mexico (under IEEPA already, under Section 232 soon, maybe under Section 301, and various other possibilities as well), and with the Canadian and Mexican tariff retaliation, how much is left of the USMCA? In economic terms, the creation
Whither the Worker-Centered Trade Policy?
The Biden administration changed U.S. trade policy significantly when it adopted a “worker-centered” trade policy that justified entering into “frameworks” and not trade agreements. That policy didn’t win many accolades from the trade crowd. Many critics felt that it forewent critical opportunities by refusing to discuss market access
First Rapid Response Labor Panel Begins Work under USMCA
Many readers will know that the United States called for the very first panel under the USMCA Rapid Response Labor Mechanism (RRM) at the end of August. One month in, the panel has been busy. This post briefly summarizes the panel’s work so far and makes a few preliminary
The U.S. “Worker-Centered Trade Policy” is helping some workers in Mexico but not in America
This Labor Day post seeks to shed light on the Biden administration’s “worker-centered” trade policy. It argues that the United States-Mexico-Canada trade agreement (USMCA) misses a critical opportunity to strengthen workers’ rights in America. The agreement’s provisions exclude protections for the most vulnerable workers in U.S. trade