Washington (AFP)
It was an election promise from Donald Trump, the new free trade agreement linking the United States, Canada and Mexico comes into force on Wednesday when the borders between the three countries are partially closed due to the Covid pandemic -19.
Non-essential movements between the three countries are indeed prohibited until July 21 to stem the new coronavirus. The flow of goods nevertheless continues to circulate.
Not only does the USMCA (United States, Mexico, Canada agreement) take effect in a particular context, but it is far from eliminating all the friction between the three partners whose economies have become interdependent over time.
"It looks more like a temporary truce with the Trump administration than a return to stability in North American trade," said Edward Alden, an international trade expert at the Council on Foreign Relations.
And trade tensions can resume at any time with an American president who has campaigned for re-election in November.
On June 17, before the treaty came into force, the American trade representative, Robert Lighthizer, who himself negotiated the USMCA, had warned Congress that the Trump administration was ready to take action as "often" as necessary to challenge possible violations of the new agreement.
In particular, he noted that his teams would closely monitor the issue of dairy trade, a long-standing dispute between American and Canadian farmers.
For Mexico, Mr. Lighthizer had noted the existing disputes, mentioning Mexico City's refusal to approve new imports of US GM products in the past two years.
The USMCA replaces the Aléna (North American Free Trade Agreement) which dates from 1994 and which was unanimously considered obsolete.
The Republican president, who had repeatedly called it the "worst trade agreement" in the history of the United States, had imposed its renegotiation a few months after his arrival at the White House.
Accusing him of having destroyed thousands of jobs in the automotive sector due to the relocation of production to Mexico where the labor is cheaper, he finally obtained important changes on the "rules of origin "allowing American industrialists to take a larger share in this industry.
- Canadian aluminum -
The original text of the USMCA was signed on November 30, 2018, but it had to undergo numerous amendments under the impetus of the American Democrats. Its final version was not finally ratified until the end of 2019.
For the time being, the three countries can welcome the principle of a large area for free trade in goods without customs duty.
Bringing together some 500 million inhabitants, this treaty is crucial for the three economies that are now interdependent.
In 2019, trade between the three indeed amounted to some 1.2 trillion dollars.
And the gross domestic product of their combined economies represents some 27% of world GDP.
"With the new Alena, we have been able to protect our cultural industries in the digital age and for the future, we have been able to provide better protection for our automobile industry," Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Monday. his daily press briefing.
He also welcomed the fact that his government had "protected the privileged access that thousands and thousands of Canadian businesses and millions of Canadians have to the American market at a time of protectionism and uncertainty in the economy." World trade".
But he also raised rumors that Donald Trump could reimpose tariffs on Canadian aluminum.
"Indeed, we hear the worrying proposals in relation to potential tariffs on aluminum," he said.
But he put forward the need of the United States for its automobile industry as well as for its high-tech industries.
"They do not produce enough aluminum in the United States to meet their needs and increase the price of aluminum for their workers, for their companies, it is a bad idea," he said.
In June 2018, in the midst of the renegotiation of the Aléna, Donald Trump did not hesitate to impose punitive tariffs on Canadian aluminum, causing the amazement of his historic ally.
© 2020 AFP