With the execution of the USMCA by Canada, Mexico and the United
States on Nov 30, the eventuality of a new trade agreement
environment is certain, although what that environment will mean to
Canadian suppliers is less than clear.
Canada is not a party to the USMCA government procurement
chapter (Chapter 13). Once the USMCA comes in to force, suppliers
in Canada, the U.S. and Mexico will no longer have one trade
agreement that provides a common "rule set" for
government procurement in North America. Rather, there will be one
agreement governing procurement between Canada and the United
States (the World Trade Organization Agreement on Government
Procurement – WTO-AGP), another between the United States and
Mexico (the USMCA), and, when it comes in to force, a third
agreement between Canada and Mexico (the Comprehensive and
Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership –
CPTPP).
