The United States-Mexico-Canada Trade Agreement (USMCA) officially entered into force on July 1, 2020 after months of negotiations.
This new trade agreement is a replacement for the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) which went into force in 1994. The new agreement has numerous updates, many of which reflect the significant changes to online, e-commerce, and other technological advancements that have happened since the early 90’s.
The parts of the agreement that pertain to the agriculture sector have mainly been left alone, with some noted exceptions including more access to the Canadian dairy market
Under NAFTA U.S. suppliers exporting to Mexico or Canada were required to fill out official Certificate of Origin documents. Even before USMCA went into force our Food Export Helpline™ Counselor Dennis Lynch started receiving tons of questions about what Certificate of Origin documents would be required under USMCA.
To help address this question Dennis hosted a recent webinar “Dynamics of USMCA Origin Certification” which you can now view on demand on our website. This webinar goes into detail about the new USMCA agreement and what information U.S. suppliers should include when shipping.
While USMCA does not require an official certificate of origin such as NAFTA CBP 434, there is a minimum set of ‘data elements’ that must be submitted to prove origin. This information helps prove the origin of the goods and shows that they are eligible to receive preferential tariff treatment under USMCA.
We have given a brief overview of the nine data fields that should be included below, but highly recommend you watch the webinar in its entirety to get the full context and better understand what international importers will expect of you.
1. Importer, Exporter, or Producer (indicate which is certifier)
2. Name and Address of Certifier Name and Address of Exporter
3. Name and Address of Producer
4. Named and Address of Importer (if known)
5. Description and HS Code
6. Specific criteria under which the good meets USMCA originating requirements
7. Need to go through the rules of origin steps
8. Date or Blanket period range
9. Authorized signature and date