US, Canada agree to Nafta replacement that includes Mexico

SINGAPORE (Oct 1): The US and Canada agreed to a trade deal with Mexico, setting the stage for their leaders to sign the accord by late November in a region that trades more than US$1 trillion ($1.37 trillion) annually.

The three countries reached an agreement to replace the 24-year-old North American Free Trade Agreement, according to a joint statement from US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland on Sunday. The new deal will be called the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement, or USMCA.

The accord involves improved access to Canada’s dairy market for US farmers, stronger intellectual property provisions, and tighter rules of origin for auto production, according to two senior Trump administration officials who spoke to reporters on condition of anonymity.

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