Canadian, Mexican, and U.S. leaders are expected to sign the USMCA while attending the G20 summit in Buenos Aires in November 2018. Signing the agreement is an essential step before the deal can be entered into force, but much more must be done in each of the three countries before the USMCA can become law, according to CAR.

In Mexico, the legislative process to ratify the deal and enact the enabling legislation is expected to be quick. The deadlines to notify the U.S. Congress of the agreement on 31 August 2018 and release the text of the agreement on 30 September 2018 were all aimed at getting the USMCA approved by outgoing Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto who leaves office on 1 December 2018.

In Canada, the USMCA must be approved by the Cabinet and considered by the Parliament, which is comprised of the House of Commons, the Senate, and the Sovereign. The Parliament will make necessary legislative and regulatory changes, and the deal must receive “royal assent” (approval by the Governor General). The only hard timeline in this process is that the House of Commons must sit with the agreement for 21 days of consideration and debate before moving forward. Canada holds federal elections in October 2019 – so for USMCA to go into effect on 1 January 2020, Canada will likely have to complete the ratification process before the election.