b'6American Journal ofTransportation ajot.comUSMCA boosts North American trade (DILEMMAcontinuedno way to charge the tractor. from page 2) It wont make it and back on The United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) has provided the antic- Mier y Teran. a full charge in San Diego.ipated boost to North American trade during a tepid time in global commerce.Californias advanced cleanhe ost of usinessfleet regulation impacts truck- tCbAre the results fortuitous timing coming out of COVID or something more? ers with fleets of 50 or moreb ound tog oupbig rigs or that generate moreMillersaystheconse-By Phillip M. Perry, AJOT than $50 million in annual orquences are frightening finan-single-truckoperatorsthatciallyandoperationally.The When the United States- $1.3 trillion in 2021 to $1.5other friendly trading partnersserve ports and railyards.impactonthetruckdrivers, Mexico-CanadaAgreementtrillion in 2022. will benefit from greater U.S.MarlonMiller,ownerwhoaredifficulttorecruit (USMCA)wasintroducedThe importance of Northtrade, not less. ofSanDiegobasedMillerandretaintoday,theship-in2020,theintentionwasAmericantradetotheU.S.FreightandLogisticswithper, consignee, and his truck-to improve the conditions ofeconomycannotbeb oostingt rade 81 rigs in his fleet and a busying company, are impossible North American trade. One ofdenied. In 2022 U.S.So, what was in thecross border business, is feel- tonumericallycalculate,he the most important provisionsmerchandiseexportsagreementthatstimu- ing the bite now. This willcontends.If I am delayed in wasamandateforhigherto Canada and Mexicolatedtrade?Onewasdefinitelyimpactourlogis- LosAngelestrafficafter wagesforMexicanlabor,totaled680.5bil- achangeinrulesofticsbusiness.Mexicoisnotcrossingtheborderin and a guarantee such workerslion, said John Man- originfortheautopreparedtoinstallelectricTijuana, I may need another would be able to organize andzella,aconsultantonindustry, increasing thechargersordoinganythingtruck to complete the deliv-bargain collectively.globalbusinessandportionofeachelectrically on its side of theery. There are charging sta-NAFTAhadbeencriti- economictrendsvehicle that hadborder,hetoldtheAmeri- tionsforcarsthatcouldbe cized for years as creating an( J o h n M a n - tocomefromcanJournalofTransporta- $90 to $110 per charge, but unfair playing field by movingzella.com).the three coun- tion. So, imagine if we havenothingyetfortrucks. And stuffsouthoftheborderThisismoreJohn Manzella tries to 75 per- anestimated$600,000elec- who knows how much time because of cheap labor, saidthan U.S. merchandise exportscent, up from 62.5 percent.tric powered truck sitting init will take to recharge an 18 Ashley Craig, Co-Chair of theto our next nine biggest exportThe new labor stipulationsborder traffic for three to sixwheeler?InternationalTradeGroupatmarkets($675.8billion).(BOOSTScontinued onhourseatingupelectricity(DILEMMAcontinued on VenableLLP(venable.com).Moving forward, Mexico andpage 25) waiting to cross and there ispage 8)Thatwastothedetriment of workers in the US and, by extension, Canada. Ashley Craig, Co-Chair of the International Trade Groupa CCeleration ofn ortha meriCant radeAnotherresultofthe agreement,though,wasan accelerationinthetrade activityamongCanada,the United States, and Mexico. The raw numbers show that theUSMCAhasincreased trade among the three coun-try parties to the agreement, which is a good thing, said TomPalisin,Executive Director of The Manufactur-ers Association, a York, Pa.,basedregionalemployers groupwithmorethan420 member companies (mascpa.org).Theresanincreas-ingtrendoftradebetween the U.S. and Mexico in par-ticular, with more US exports going to Mexico, for sure. So, thats all positive.Tom Palisin, Executive Director of The Manufacturers AssociationThenumbersbackup this rosy view. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, with CanadaandMexicoaggre-gated,totaltradevolume with the U.S. increased from'