USMCA: Trump Signs New Trade Agreement With Mexico And Canada To Replace NAFTA

President Trump, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto signed the new U.S. Mexico Canada Agreement — or USMCA — in Buenos Aires Friday, using the backdrop of the G-20 Summit to resolve a trade dispute between America and its closest neighbors.

"Let's go," all three leaders said as they sat alongside each other to sign multiple copies of the deal.

They then shuffled binders around in front of them, to finalize the deal that remakes one of the world's largest free trade zones. When the signing was over, they paused for a photo-op. "Might as well hold that up," Trump said, displaying the fresh signatures as the three leaders sat together.

Despite that and other prodding, Trudeau opted not to follow his peers in holding up his binder to celebrate — a sign, perhaps, of the lingering effects of the contentious process that was triggered when Trump imposed tariffs on Mexico and Canada earlier this year, which remain in place.

The signing event and the leaders' remarks were livestreamed. You can watch the event here.

In the lead-up to the signing, Canadian officials had "made it clear they didn't want to celebrate the end of a year of U.S. attempts to twist Canada's arm with the tariffs still in place," the CBC reports. But that wish ran counter to the desires of Trump and Peña Nieto, both of whom have preferred to portray the deal as a victory that helps to cement their legacies.

"This has been a battle, and battles sometimes make great friendships," Trump said at the start of the signing ceremony.

Saying all three countries will benefit from the deal, Trump said of the USMCA, "It is probably the largest trade deal ever made."

The USMCA (read the whole text here) replaces the North American Free Trade Agreement, which had created a free trade zone between the three countries back in 1994. The deal will require ratification by all three countries' legislatures before taking effect.

"The biggest change this deal makes, really, is to the automotive sector," NPR's Scott Horsley reports, "where it does put higher requirements on North American content, and in particular high-wage content, for vehicles to trade duty-free." - Read More

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