Twelve Companies' Longer USMCA Transition Periods Approved
The U.S. has not publicly released all the companies that have applied for an extended period to get their North American-made vehicles into compliance with the tighter rules of origin, but both Canada and Mexico have published the list of 12 companies that have been approved. Since all three countries must approve alternative staging regimes, it follows that these companies' transition plans are cleared by the U.S., as well. The press office of the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative is in transition with a change in administrations.
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A Canadian embassy spokesperson said one company has yet to finalize its request, and declined to identify it. CBP said it extended the submission deadline for automakers to Jan. 29, but the later deadline should not affect the agency's ability to begin full enforcement of auto rules of origin July 1.
The companies that have been approved for a longer phase-in of rules of origin change are:
- Fiat Chrysler Automobiles
- Ford Motor Company
- Honda Motor Company
- Hyundai Motor Company
- Kia Motors Manufacturing Georgia
- Kia Motors Mexico
- Nissan Motor Company
- Tesla
- Toyota Motor Corporation
- Volkswagen
- Volvo Cars
- Certain Mercedes-Benz cars made at a Renault-Nissan-Daimler joint venture factory in Aguascalientes, Mexico.
The companies that do not have approved plans are General Motors, BMW, Mazda and Subaru. It's not clear whether the companies that chose not to apply can already meet the rules of origin in the three-year phase-in, or whether they decided coming into compliance would be so expensive that it's better to pay the 6% tariff for exports into Canada, the 2.5% import tariff for exports from Mexico to the U.S., and the 20% tariff for cars made in the U.S. and exported into Mexico that cannot claim USMCA benefits. (Mazda only manufactures cars in North America in joint ventures with Ford or Toyota).