Is NAFTA still in effect 2022?

Overview

The U.S. – Mexico – Canada Agreement (USMCA) is a trade agreement between the named parties. The USMCA replaced the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has launched a USMCA Center to serve as a one stop shop for information concerning the USMCA. The USMCA Center coordinates CBP’s implementation of the USMCA Agreement, ensuring a smooth transition with consistent and comprehensive guidance to our internal and external stakeholders.

USMCA Resource Center and Automotive Certification Portal

Entry-Into Force

• The USMCA entered into force on July 1, 2020. NAFTA preferential treatment cannot be claimed on July 1, 2020 or afterwards.
• For merchandise entered into commerce on or before June 30, 2020, NAFTA rules will continue to apply.
• CSMS #45309245 - USMCA - Consolidated Appropriations Act 2021 & End of Restrained Enforcement - On December 27, 2020, the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021 [H.R.133 – 116th Congress (2019-2020)] was signed into law. The Act contains technical corrections for the USMCA, including on merchandise processing fee refunds for post-entry claims (including for 520(d) and reconciliation claims) and on foreign trade zones. These technical corrections are retroactive to July 1, 2020.
   

Uniform Regulations, General Note, and Implementation Instructions - Final (as of June 30, 2020)

On April 20, 2020, CBP published interim implementing instructions. These interim implementing instruction have been subsequently updated to reflect the published uniform regulations and General Note 11. 

• CSMS #43062320 - US-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) Updated Interim Implementation Instructions - On June 16, 2020, the U.S. Trade Representative published Updated Uniform Regulations for the USMCA’s Chapter 4 (Rules of Origin) and Chapter 5 (Origin Procedures). This version of the document replaces the Interim Implementing Instructions issued on April 20, 2020.
• CSMS #43215543 - US-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) Implementing Instructions (Final) - On June 30, 2020, the U.S. International Trade Commission published General Note 11, incorporating the USMCA into the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States, and accordingly, CBP updated our USMCA Implementing Instructions. This version of the document replaces the Interim Implementing Instructions issued on June 16, 2020.
• On December 27, 2020, the Consolidated Appropriation Act (Pub. Law No. 116-260) was signed into law, including several changes to the implementation of the USMCA. These changes are detailed in a January 12, 2020 addendum to the USMCA Implementing Instructions. Available in Spanish and French Translations.
   

Compliance Guidance

• CBP will use this webpage to post informational links, compliance guidance materials, points of contact, and Frequently Asked Questions. Additional guidance on USMCA compliance for the trade community will be posted here as developed. This webpage will be continually updated.
• CBP has recorded a webinar regarding USMCA compliance for the private sector. Please visit CBP’s Trade Outreach via Webinar webpage for more information.
• CBP urges the import/export community to monitor CBP.gov/Trade, the Cargo System Messaging Service, and @CBPTradeGov on Twitter for updates on USMCA implementation dates; regulatory drafting; Frequently Asked Questions and other compliance resources.
• The USMCA contains provisions relating to the prohibition of the importation of goods sourced from forced labor. For additional information on CBP’s enforcement against this prohibition, please visit our Forced Labor webpage.
• The USMCA requires a “certification of origin.”
  • Any format is acceptable, provided it contains nine (9) minimum data elements set out in the USMCA, Annex 5-A.  To facilitate compliance, CBP has created a suggested template for the USMCA and other free trade agreements.  Please note: this PDF does not work on all Internet Browsers.  The form will work best on Internet Explorer.
  • Additional information on how to make USMCA preferential treatment claims can be found on this website, including an instructional video (“How to Make a USMCA Claim”).

For CBP related questions on USMCA, please contact the offices listed below for assistance:

Additional Resources

Sustained bipartisan engagement here in the United States led to a final, renegotiated USMCA that secured robust levels of support in Congress not seen since the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). Dozens of groups, including the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO), the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the NETWORK Lobby for Catholic Social Justice, and state and local leaders across the country ultimately endorsed the new agreement.

The overwhelming support for the USMCA creates a strong foundation for the Agreement’s durability. Full implementation and enforcement of the USMCA are top priorities for the Biden-Harris Administration, and a key component of a worker-centric trade policy.

The Agreement reflects the United States’ commitment to raising wages and empowering workers, and it recognizes that workers and producers are central to creating more productive and competitive North American economies.

The USMCA will help North America meet the challenges of the 21st century and facilitate a robust and just pandemic recovery.

The labor and environmental obligations, the strongest of any trade agreement, are fully enforceable through new tools and mechanisms that we actively employed in 2021. These include the obligation to identify and ban imports of goods produced with forced labor. This demonstrates North America’s leadership to eliminate this practice from our supply chains as a moral imperative and a term of fair economic competition.

Related

The groundbreaking Rapid Response Mechanism gives the United States the opportunity to proactively support Mexico’s domestic labor justice reform efforts and empower workers in Mexico and the United States at the same time. In May 2021, the United States self-initiated a labor enforcement action under a trade agreement for the first time in history. We resolved another matter that led to severance and back pay for Mexican workers and a commitment to neutrality in future union elections.

Our actions are aimed at driving a race to the top in trade and raising regional labor standards. But our commitment to workers and producers does not stop with the Rapid Response Mechanism.

Earlier this year, the United States prevailed in the first dispute settlement panel under the Agreement that reviewed whether Canada’s allocation of its dairy tariff-rate quotas undermined the ability of American exporters to sell a wide range of dairy products to Canadian consumers. Delivering on this historic win will ensure that American dairy farmers get the full benefit of the USMCA to market and sell their products in Canada – a promise critical to securing the support of agricultural and rural stakeholders for the USMCA.

Importantly, the USMCA will help North America meet the challenges of the 21st century and facilitate a robust and just pandemic recovery. The critical changes to the intellectual property provisions will help promote access to affordable medicine for all. The Agreement’s conservation commitments will also contribute to North America’s sustainability and resilience efforts.

The Agreement also confronts the non-market practices of countries outside the region that force our workers and businesses to compete on an uneven playing field. All three countries agreed to important provisions regarding state-owned enterprises and currency manipulation. We also committed to combatting efforts to undermine existing antidumping, countervailing duty, and safeguards measures.

In approving the USMCA, Congress delivered on a vision for ongoing implementation and monitoring of the Agreement’s terms. The $180 million authorized over four years will support Mexico’s labor reforms through technical assistance and enhancing United States’ efforts to monitor and enforce the agreement’s environmental obligations. This funding has already led to stronger intelligence sharing and increased capacity to combat illegal take and trade in flora and fauna. It also supported new collaboration with Mexico and Canada on sustainable forest management, sustainable fisheries management, and conservation of marine species.

There is a lot to celebrate as we approach the USMCA’s second anniversary, but the work of implementation is just beginning. We must use the new tools in the Agreement to effectively resolve our trade disputes and uphold the commitments made to each other. In 2022, we will work together to support regional workforce development and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) while identifying ways to increase the resiliency of our supply chains, combat forced labor, protect the environment, and address the harm from state-owned enterprises.

The Biden-Harris Administration is committed to using the USMCA as a model for how trade agreements can put workers and their interests first. In the coming years, it will be critical for the United States, Mexico, and Canada to continue our close cooperation to ensure the USMCA remains a living agreement that delivers inclusive economic growth and broadens our collective prosperity.