The United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) is a trilateral free trade agreement (FTA) that outlines rules for duty-free trade among the eponymous three countries as well as commitments on non-tariff issues, including labor, environment, investment, digital trade, and services. USMCA entered into force on July 1, 2020, replacing the 1994 North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). The USMCA Implementation Act (P.L. 116-113), which was signed into law on January 29, 2020, approved and implemented the agreement. Congress, in both its legislative and oversight capacities, was active in numerous trade policy issues related to the negotiations and conclusion of USMCA, and continues to be active in overseeing its implementation. A key issue for the 119th Congress is a scheduled July 2026 “joint review” of USMCA. The joint review is specified within the “review and term extension” provision (sometimes referred to as a “sunset clause”)—the first time such a provision has been included in any U.S. FTA. USMCA is scheduled to terminate 16 years after its entry into force (July 1, 2036) unless all three member countries confirm that they wish to continue the agreement through a “joint review” process. The parties committed to begin the first joint review on the sixth anniversary of the agreement’s entry into force (July 1, 2026).
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