There are many hot-button issues in the U.S. press right now, but the one which may have the greatest impact for the entirety of North America is the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA). This trade agreement, intended to replace the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), is currently stalled in both the U.S. Congress and Canadian Parliament, while Mexico took the lead in approving it first.
Critics of the deal cite issues with labor protections, environmental protections, a perceived over-emphasis on supporting large pharmaceutical companies at the expense of patients, and weak enforcement mechanisms as the reasons for delaying its passage.
While the Truckload Carriers Association (TCA) has been monitoring the debate over USMCA for the past several months, this is just one of many issue areas for which the average person could be confused given the current state of affairs in cross-border regulations.
In our ongoing efforts to educate our members on legislative and regulatory efforts in both Canada and the U.S., TCA will once again be presenting the Bridging Border Barriers (BBB) event to facilitate discussion and learning. This year’s event will be held on November 20 in Brampton, Ontario. BBB is free and all for-hire carriers, regardless of TCA membership, are welcome to attend.
TCA is encouraged that the USMCA has recently received renewed focus from Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi in the U.S., as ratification could potentially occur before the end of 2019. This is why we urge you to participate in BBB in November, hear about this and many other key issues for our industry, and share your knowledge with your partners across the border.
