WASHINGTON -- The United States has cleared the way for its long-awaited trade agreement with Canada and Mexico to go into effect July 1.
The U.S. notified its North American trading partners today that it has finished the domestic housekeeping work called for in the agreement, a step the other two countries completed earlier this month.
U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer also informed Congress that all three countries are now ready to proceed on the next step: forging so-called "uniform regulations" that will govern how the language of the deal is to be interpreted.
As a result, the current timeline will allow the deal to take effect on Canada Day.
In a statement, Lighthizer makes clear the U.S. is anxious to get the deal in place to help facilitate the American recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.
The statement also suggests the Trump administration sees the agreement as an integral part of its strategy to repatriate the American manufacturing industry.
