By SEMA Washington, D.C., Staff
The U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) published interim instructions for implementing the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) and the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) issued guidelines providing North American automakers more time to comply with the trade accord’s rules of origin. The Trump Administration has been eager to replace NAFTA with the USMCA by July 1. The automakers have said that they will need additional time to put in place ways to verify the new 75% North American content requirement for motor vehicles, compared with 62.5% currently, and confirm that at least 40%–45% of the vehicle content is made by workers earning at least $16 an hour.
The CBP’s 45-page guidance document provides a comprehensive overview of rules governing the trade agreement. The USTR’s Procedures for Petitioning Alternative Method for Complying with Rules of Origin provides five years rather than three for phasing in the new rules of origin.
For more information, contact Stuart Gosswein at stuartg@sema.org.