Originally published in Automotive News
By Lou Longo
As if the coronavirus shutdown wasn’t enough of a seismic shock for U.S. companies, they’ll face another earthquake in just over a month, when the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement takes effect.
The good news about the replacement for the North American Free Trade Agreement is that it finally gives us certainty around trade in the region after more than three years spent hanging on the next round of talks or tweet. It will bring investment back and provide needed stability.
The bad news is that companies’ level of awareness about the deal and their preparedness for its implementation July 1 is worryingly low. A surprising number of companies are thinking about the deal as “NAFTA 2.0,” little more than a spruced-up version of the old agreement.
But it should be clear by now that USMCA is a very different, more demanding beast.
Lou Longo is Partner and international consulting practice leader at Plante Moran.
Read the full article in Automotive News,
