A tripartite agreement to save NAFTA has been reached. The agreement, reached late last night, provides Congress the necessary 60 days’ notice of the text to approve so that President Pena Nieto of Mexico can sign before he leaves office on November 30th. All three countries wanted to get a deal done before the change of government in Mexico to President – Elect Lopez Obrador.

U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland said the accord would be renamed the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (“USMCA”). The USMCA will replace the North American Free Trade Agreement, which dates to 1994 and covers $1.2 trillion in trade. The revised trade agreement addresses wide areas of the economy, ranging from patents and financial services to farming and auto manufacturing.
Continue Reading NAFTA Agreement Reached at the Eleventh Hour

By Christopher Noon

Introduction

Today’s economy has created significant challenges for companies around the world. The tough business environment has companies facing decreased revenues, the prospect of employee layoffs, increased lending standards and fewer business opportunities. With all the present uncertainty, businesses are well-advised to expand their horizons with new or unconventional opportunities. One such opportunity every business can consider is doing business with the U.S. Government. In a recession, the Government can be a very attractive business partner for many companies as spending is increased by the Government to pull the economy out of recession. With the recently enacted American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, the Government plans on increasing spending by hundreds of billions of dollars, and will do so mostly through the issuance of government contracts. Businesses in all sectors of the economy stand to profit from this increase in spending if they are well-positioned to win these contracts. The question then remains: how does a company get started in government contracts?
 Continue Reading An Introduction to the Business of Government Contracts