From NAFTA to USMCA and the Evolution of US Trade Policy

Verbatim, C.D. Howe Institute (2019)

7 Pages Posted: 9 May 2019 Last revised: 26 Jun 2019

See all articles by Dan Ciuriak

Dan Ciuriak

Ciuriak Consulting Inc.; Centre for International Governance Innovation (CIGI); C.D. Howe Institute; Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada; BKP Development Research & Consulting GmbH

Date Written: June 25, 2019

Abstract

The Trump Administration has pursued a sharply different – and for its trade partners unsettling – trade policy from that followed by the United States in the postwar period. While much attention has been focussed on the oftentimes contradictory, oftentimes theoretically unfounded, and oftentimes undiplomatically aggressive manner in which that policy has been implemented, nonetheless, the policy contains a coherent if not necessarily desirable or achievable vision for the US economy. Moreover, the USMCA implements this policy in a systematic, lawyerly, iron-clad, and frankly brutal fashion. This note outlines the case for these claims and comments on the implications of the agreement for the future of the trading system -- and more particularly for the North American economies – as distinct from the North American economy.

Keywords: USMCA, NAFTA, US trade policy, Canada, Mexico

JEL Classification: F13, F15

Suggested Citation

Ciuriak, Dan, From NAFTA to USMCA and the Evolution of US Trade Policy (June 25, 2019). Verbatim, C.D. Howe Institute (2019), Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3369291 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3369291

Dan Ciuriak (Contact Author)

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