US-Canada Trade The Facts

 Trade Fact Sheet: United States, Mexico, and Canada Converting NAFTA into a Trade Agreement Fit for the 21st Century A deal has been achieved by the US, Mexico, and Canada to update the 25-year-old NAFTA into a high-standard accord fit for the twenty-first century. Important Points: Safeguards for American Innovators and Creators

The upcoming IP Chapter will

So that American creators are not denied the same protections that domestic creators have in a foreign market, copyright and related rights must be given full national treatment.

Keep up the good work of protecting American inventors with patents by instituting patent office best practices and patentability standards. This will allow American innovators, including small and medium-sized enterprises, to obtain patent protection for their inventions.

Provide robust safeguards for inventors in agriculture and pharmaceuticals.

mandate that works with a copyright term that is not dependent on the life of an individual must wait at least 75 years from the first authorized publication, or the minimum term should be the author's life plus 70 years.

impose strict guidelines to prevent the evasion of technological security measures, which are frequently used to safeguard digital media like books, movies, and music. Create suitable copyright safe harbors in accordance with US law to safeguard intellectual property and give certainty to lawful businesses that do not directly profit from the infringement. Establish a mechanism for consultation between the Parties on future geographical indications (GIs) in accordance with international agreements, and provide significant procedural safeguards for the recognition of new GIs, including stringent standards for protection against the issuance of GIs that would prohibit American producers from using common names. Strengthen trademark protection laws, especially those pertaining to well-known marks, to assist businesses who have devoted time and money to building positive brand recognition. The most extensive enforcement provisions of any trade agreement is a notable accomplishment.

A trade agreement will, for the first time, need each of the following

Law enforcement officers have the ex officio jurisdiction to halt suspected counterfeit or pirated goods at every stage of their entry, departure, or transit through any Party's territory.

Recognize explicitly that in order to prevent infringement of trademarks, copyrights, and related rights in the digital sphere, IP enforcement methods must be made available.

Significant criminal laws and punishments for recording movies without permission, which is a major source of internet movie pirates. Penalties for theft of satellite and cable signals are both civil and criminal. extensive defense against the theft of trade secrets, including defense against state-owned businesses. Key Accomplishment: Highest Trade Secret Protection Standards of Any Previous Free Trade Agreement Specifically, compared to previous US trade agreements, the Chapter offers the strongest protection for trade secrets. It encompasses all of the following measures to prevent trade secret misappropriation, including by state-owned enterprises: criminal procedures and penalties, civil procedures and remedies, bans on obstructing trade secret licensing, judicial procedures to stop trade secret disclosure during litigation, and fines for government officials who disclose trade secrets without authorization.

E-COMMERCE

The strongest rules on digital trade found in any international agreement are included in the new chapter on digital trade, offering a solid basis for increased trade and investment in cutting-edge goods and services where the US has a competitive advantage.

Principal Aspects of the Chapter on Digital Trade

The upcoming chapter on digital trade will:

For digital products distributed electronically, prohibit the application of customs tariffs and other discriminatory measures (e-books, films, music, software, games, etc.). To strengthen and safeguard the global digital ecosystem, make sure that data can be transferred across borders and that restrictions on where it can be processed and stored are kept to a minimum. To facilitate digital transactions, make sure providers are not limited in their usage of electronic signatures or electronic authentication. Ensure that the digital economy is subject to legal consumer protections, such as those pertaining to privacy and unsolicited messages. Restrict the power of governments to demand the release of algorithms and proprietary computer source code in order to better safeguard the competitiveness of digital suppliers. Encourage cooperation in addressing cybersecurity issues and cooperate to advance industry best practices to maintain the security of networks and services. Encourage unrestricted access to publicly generated government data in order to foster creative use in for-profit services and applications. Reducing the civil liability of Internet platforms for content hosted or processed by third parties beyond the purview of intellectual property enforcement will improve the financial sustainability of these growth engines that rely on user interaction and user-generated content. DE MINIMIS Elevated De Minimis Shipment Value Level: A Significant Achievement

The United States, Mexico, and Canada have achieved an agreement to increase their de minimis cargo value standards in order to enable greater cross-border trade. For the first time in many years, Canada will increase the tax de minimis from C$20 to C$40. Additionally, Canada will allow duty-free shipments up to $150. Mexico will keep offering duty-free shipments up to the equivalent of USD $117 as well as tax-free de minimis up to USD $50.