Special Attention for SMEs in the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA)

The United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) effective July 1, 2020 is a welcome and multifaceted update to the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) twenty-five years after its inception.  According to the Office of the United States Trade Representative, USMCA “will support mutually beneficial trade leading to freer markets, fairer trade, and robust economic growth in North America.”

Implementation of the agreement activates new protocols in operations to the North American trade industry in compliance, documentation, and supply chain. Manufacturing sectors are affected unilaterally but there are specifics applied to several and varied industries across the spectrum to address terms and policy unique to that industry.

For the first time in a U.S. Federal Trade Agreement, however, the USMCA includes a Stand-Alone Chapter on Small-Medium Enterprises (SME). Provisions throughout the USMCA will benefit SMEs but the key achievement is cutting red tape at the border via increased De Minimis levels making it easier for SMEs to engage in cross-border trade.

The ATA Carnet is an internationally accepted customs document and a valuable tool for the temporary import/export of goods. The documents can be used for expanding into global markets with ease and economy. There could not be a better time to familiarize yourself with the benefits of ATA Carnets because the benefit it’s known best for is the avoidance of import-duty and -tax on your temporarily imported goods and merchandise. Whether you are an individual, a small or medium-sized enterprise, a Fortune 500 company, a not-for-profit, a freight forwarder or a humanitarian relief effort – you will find ATA Carnets are easy to use and can stimulate your company’s growth internationally in this new chapter of North American trade.

Call an ATA Carnet Specialist at 800.ATA.2900 or email us to find out more and get started today.