Zack Hadzismajlovic, head of McCarter’s Global Trade, CFIUS and Export Controls practice, was featured in S&P Global’s Platts coverage of the US decision not to renew the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) in its current form. The move triggers ongoing negotiations and annual reviews over the next decade.
Zack underscores the risks prolonged uncertainty creates for metals and mining investors, noting that “metals and mining, in order to benefit properly from USMCA, require a longer-term horizon in order to properly invest. Annual reviews, that’s not helpful.” He also highlights how shifting trade dynamics could weaken integrated North American supply chains, potentially opening the door for increased global competition. “The USMCA, in my mind, has always been a defense against China because with these integrated supply chains, there was really no room for China to step in,” he said. “What we’re doing, here, is that uncertainty is probably giving them an opening.”