USMCA: Auto Sector Can Adapt, but Dairy Industry Will Take a Hit

(Clockwise from top L) Mexican Secretary of Economy Ildefonso Guajardo Villarreal, U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer, Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, U.S. President Donald Trump, and Mexican President Pena Nieto participate in a signing ceremony for the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on Nov. 30, 2018. The new trade pact came into effect on July 1, 2020. The Canadian Press/Sean Kilpatrick

The ink was barely dry on the finalized United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement when it came into effect July 1, leaving Canadian industry struggling to change gears. While the automotive sector expects it can adapt, the dairy industry faces much greater uncertainty.

“The real benefit of the USMCA was continuing to secure access to the U.S. market for products that they’re building here in Canada, because 85 percent of the production essentially goes down into the U.S. market,” said David Adams, president of the Global Automakers of Canada.