The United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) is the trilateral free trade agreement that replaced NAFTA on July 1, 2020. It governs preferential duty treatment for goods originating in the U.S., Mexico, or Canada and was implemented in U.S. law by the USMCA Implementation Act (Pub. L. 116-113).
Origin determination. Under USMCA Article 4.1, a good originates if it is (a) wholly obtained in the territory, (b) produced entirely from originating materials, or (c) satisfies the product-specific rules of origin in Annex 4-B — typically a tariff shift, a regional value content test, or both. The agreement allows a 7% de minimis tolerance for non-originating materials that fail the tariff shift.
Automotive rules. USMCA toughened the rules for autos: passenger vehicles need 75% RVC (up from NAFTA's 62.5%), 70% of steel and aluminum must be North American, and 40-45% of vehicle content must come from labor earning at least $16/hour (Labor Value Content).
Certification. Unlike NAFTA's Certificate of Origin form, USMCA uses a free-form certification with nine required data elements. The certification may be completed by the importer, exporter, or producer (USMCA Chapter 5, Article 5.2) and is valid for up to one year of shipments.
Claims and recordkeeping. Importers claim USMCA preference by entering "S" or "S+" before the HTS code on CBP Form 7501. Records must be kept for five years from the date of importation. Post-importation claims under 19 U.S.C. § 1520(d) may be filed within one year of entry.