TO THE EDITOR:
Almost all the commentary I have read from trade experts on USMCA’s rules abruptly conclude with, “They’re complicated.” That’s a cop-out; anyone glancing at the text sees that. Stopping there, the private-sector trade community, particularly the auto industry, is left high and dry without desperately needed practical guidance on what it must do to ensure business complies with the rules and, more importantly, captures all the duty-free benefits of the “new NAFTA.” If more of my colleagues were to step up and plunge into the jumble drawer of Notwithstanding, Footnote 75, Annex B and Table A-2 as I have, the trade community would have some tangible advice. USMCA is much more a tool kit of extremely useful rules than it is a compliance obstacle course. By properly understanding and applying USMCA’s rules — the province of trade experts — the trade community will understand, appreciate and maybe even celebrate it as the rule set to facilitate and nurture North American trade in the 21st century.
PAUL VANDEVERT , The writer is principal at Vandevert Trade Law in Dearborn, Mich.