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What are the primary differences between USMCA and NAFTA and the impact on North American trade and rail traffic? (Morgan Kernohan)

Published December 6, 2020by Morgan Kernohan - Canadian Pacific Railwayin Ask The Experts Q&A

I love the question as this trade agreement is critical for the railroads.

First, just having an agreement in place is vital to rail as more than 40% of trade goods in North America move by rail. I believe I read an article that said trade between the US, Canada, & Mexico has quadrupled over the past 25 years. We are talking almost $1.5 Trillion dollars of trade and the railroads handle 40%.    

Personally, I am a data geek so my favorite part is the modernizing of the trade agreement to account for e-commerce, digital trade, & a commitment to open flows of data. These changes will preserve and increase rail traffic plus more data helps everyone.