Until recently, I’ve been among those who’ve had virtually no experience with one — but that changed in February.

My first time in a BEV (battery electric vehicle) was in the cab of John Deere’s soon-to-be-introduced tractors at a vineyard in California. Operating the tractor was virtually identical to running a regular one with a CVT transmission.

The biggest difference was the absolute silence in the cab and no tachometer to monitor.

When the national Plug’n Drive event hit town, I expanded my range of experience with BEVs by getting behind the wheel of a couple of passenger vehicles. Sadly, none of the electric pickups were included in that event — but clearly, farmers buy regular cars sometimes too, so it seemed a worthwhile event to attend.

First up for review was Hyundai’s Kona: a smaller SUV that still offered a fair bit of internal legroom and storage space but was small enough to feel like a nimble little grocery-getter. It proved to be a nice little car to drive.

But it was the electric angle that I was looking to evaluate.

Most ICE vehicles these days are extremely quiet and the BEVs I drove took that up a notch — not surprisingly, no sound at all.

Acceleration was impressive for a car that size. That’s to be expected. Electric drive makes torque instantly available at any speed, something you don’t necessarily get with a compact ICE vehicle.

Regenerative braking allows for short bursts of recharging when stopping, and the adjustable feature allows the driver to use that in place of standard braking, with a selector paddle behind the steering wheel to control the rate of deceleration.

—> READ MORE: Silverado EV, F-150 Lightning take a cold comparison

Of course, there were ample high-tech displays and camera views on the dash.

The Kona has a published range of 420 km and a starting MSRP of $46,499. Our test unit had an as-equipped price tag of roughly $53,000.

Next up for a test run was the Chevy Equinox: a larger car with more cargo space and internal room. It had a more solid, heavy feel than the little Kona, no doubt due to the added size and much larger battery pack that offered a published 513-km range.

And while the Kona had good acceleration, the Equinox put it to shame. Mash the accelerator pedal and the car instantly responds so much the back end wants to break loose at nearly any average speed.

I wouldn’t have believed it had that much torque. I’ve driven old-fashioned muscle cars, but I can’t think of any that had that much throttle response.

Starting MSRP for the Equinox is $48,418.

A plug-in charger is included with both models, according to the Plug’n Drive staff. While every BEV is different, they said that an average BEV, when plugged into a standard 110-V outlet, should gain enough charge to put on an additional five km of range per hour. With a 220-V fast charger, a full recharge should be possible within five hours.

The charger for the Equinox was capable of plugging into a standard 110-V or 30-amp or 50-amp 220-V outlet. That means if you have a welder plug in the garage, nothing more is required to keep your Equinox charged and ready.

It’s fair to say electric vehicles won’t work for everyone — yet, at least. But they may be a better fit and have a broader application than many might expect.

I’ll be the first to admit nothing gets my heart rate up like the sound of a big diesel engine pouring a stream of thick black partly-burned hydrocarbons out a vertical exhaust, but for a runabout grocery-getter set of wheels that would add a little fun to a parts run into town, these BEVs have convinced me they’re well worth considering. And the lack of a gas or diesel engine shouldn’t disqualify them from consideration.

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The closure of the Ambassador Bridge, North America’s busiest international land border crossing and a vital supply route for Detroit’s carmakers, has halted some auto output and left officials scrambling to limit economic damage.

Canadian truckers started their protests as a “Freedom Convoy” occupying Ottawa, the capital, to demonstrate opposition to a vaccinate-or-quarantine mandate for cross-border drivers mirrored by the U.S. government.

They began blocking the Ambassador Bridge on Monday and have since shut two smaller border crossings in Alberta and Manitoba.

As many pandemic-weary western countries near the two-year mark on coronavirus restrictions, copycat protests have spread to Australia, New Zealand and France, although the wave of infections caused by the highly infectious Omicron variant has begun to subside in some places.

U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg urged their Canadian counterparts “to use federal powers to resolve this situation at our joint border,” a White House official said on Thursday.

“U.S. and Canadian border and customs authorities are working with great urgency to ensure the continued flow of goods and services across our international border, leveraging alternative land routes, as well as air and sea options.”

A U.S. homeland security adviser, Liz Sherwood Randall, is due to speak with Canada’s Deputy Defence Minister Jody Thomas.

Canadian federal ministers have called the blockade illegal and asked protesters to return home. Police near the Ambassador Bridge have begun receiving additional manpower, Drew Dilkens, the mayor of Windsor, which borders Detroit, told CNN.

“(If) the protesters don’t leave, there will have to be a path forward. If that means physically removing them, that means physically removing them, and we’re prepared to do that,” he said.

Dilkens later said Windsor was seeking an injunction from Ontario Superior Court to have the protesters removed, adding he was striving to resolve the issue peacefully.

“(While) it may be gratifying for someone to see the forced removal of the demonstrators, such action may inflame the situation and certainly cause more folks to come here and add to the protest, and we don’t want to risk additional conflict,” Dilkens said.

Diverting cargo

With traffic at times shut in both directions, General Motors and Chrysler’s parent Stellantis said on Thursday they had to cancel or reduce shifts because of parts shortages, tacking on to earlier production cuts announced by Ford Motor Co. and Toyota Motor Corp.

Toyota said it was suspending production through Saturday at its plants in Ontario and Kentucky, affecting manufacturing of the Camry, RAV4 and other popular models.

Ford is looking at flying in some auto parts to a plant in Windsor that produces engines for popular models, a union official said.

The Ambassador Bridge was completely shut from both directions on Thursday as of 3:15 p.m. ET, according to a Reuters witness.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said he was working to end the bridge blockade which hurt “regular Canadians whether it’s grocery store prices, whether it’s jobs lost or suspended, whether it’s supply chains disrupted.”

In a tweet Thursday, Trudeau said he had spoken to Dilkens and said the federal government was ready to help Windsor and the province get the situation under control.

“It is causing real harm to workers and economies on both sides of the border,” he said.

An Ontario court on Thursday froze funds donated to anti-vaccine protesters through the app GiveSendGo. The convoy group had raised more than $8 million as of late Thursday afternoon, the Boston-based company said.

Protesters began gathering with their vehicles in Ottawa nearly two weeks ago and have occupied the main downtown street that runs by Parliament, the Bank of Canada and the prime minister’s office.

More U.S disruption to come?

More than two-thirds of the $511 billion in goods traded annually between Canada and the U.S. is transported by road. The Detroit International Bridge Co., which owns the Ambassador Bridge, urged Canada to end the protest by repealing the vaccine mandate or remove the vehicles so trade can resume.

A third option was to do “nothing and hope this ends on its own: an option that will most likely prolong the blockade, further crippling our economy and putting more jobs at risk,” the company’s chairman, Matt Moroun, said in a statement.

Seeking to show support for the Canadian protesters, some U.S. truckers said they will send two convoys this weekend to a fourth border crossing that connects Buffalo, N.Y. and Fort Erie, Ont.

The U.S. is adding staff to its command post at the National Football League’s Super Bowl in Los Angeles in response to reports of a convoy causing disruptions at Sunday’s game, the White House official said.

The official said in a statement that the Department of Homeland Security was making preparations to ensure that a ‘Freedom Convoy’ event in Washington D.C. due in early March “does not disrupt lawful trade and transportation or interfere with federal government and law enforcement operations and emergency services.”

— Reporting for Reuters by Carlos Osorio,Steve Holland and Ismail Shakil; additional reporting by David Shepardson, Chris Gallagher and Tim Ahmann in Washington, Rod Nickel in Manitoba, Julie Gordon in Ottawa and Brendan O’Brien in Chicago; writing by Rami Ayyub and Costas Pitas.

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The protests started as a “Freedom Convoy” occupying downtown Ottawa, opposing a vaccinate-or-quarantine mandate for cross-border truckers mirrored by the U.S. government. But they have also aired grievances about a carbon tax and other legislation.

The protests have been causing gridlock in Ottawa since late January.

From Monday night, protestors have shut inbound Canada traffic at the Ambassador Bridge, a supply route for Detroit’s carmakers and agricultural products, drawing the attention of U.S. and Canadian officials.

Manitoba’s main Canada-U.S. border crossing, at Emerson, about 100 km south of Winnipeg, has now also been blocked by an anti-vaccine mandate protest.

Manitoba RCMP said Thursday morning a “large number of vehicles and farm equipment” are now blocking the crossing and no northbound or southbound traffic is getting through.

Alberta’s main crossing, at Coutts, southeast of Lethbridge, has been subject to blockades halting or slowing traffic since late January.

More than two-thirds of the $650 billion in goods traded annually between Canada and the United States is transported by road.

The Ambassador Bridge, connecting Detroit to Windsor, Ont., is considered the busiest of those Canada-U.S. land crossings.

Windsor Mayor Drew Dilkens has been quoted on CNN as saying that additional support from Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) was starting to arrive and his city has sought help from other police services.

“Those officers are coming into town as we speak and if the protesters don’t leave, there will have to be a path forward. If that means physically removing them, that means physically removing them, and we’re prepared to do that,” he said.

The closure of the bridge, one of the busiest border crossings on the continent, has caused a shortage of parts at carmaker Stellantis’ assembly plant in Windsor, Ont. Production has also been affected at Ford Motor Co. and Toyota Motor Corp.

General Motors, joining the list of impacted automakers, said on Thursday it was forced to cancel two production shifts at a plant in Michigan.

“Although the Ambassador Bridge is not closed U.S. bound, the presence of demonstrators is making it difficult to access the bridge,” local police said on Thursday, urging motorists to avoid access points to the bridge.

White House spokesperson Jen Psaki said on Wednesday, “It’s important for everyone in Canada and the United States to understand what the impact of this blockage is — potential impact — on workers, on the supply chain, and that is where we’re most focused.”

Canadian federal ministers have called the blockade illegal and asked protesters to return home.

Police in Ottawa are promising stricter action to end protests occupying the city’s downtown.

Ottawa police on Wednesday laid out threats, ranging from arrests without warrants to seizure of vehicles, to truck drivers gridlocking the city’s core. Despite their warnings to enforce existing laws for days now, only 23 arrests have been made.

Some protesters moved their demonstration to the Ottawa International Airport, causing traffic disruptions, the city said in a tweet.

— Reporting for Reuters by Ismail Shakil in Bangalore and David Shepardson and Chris Gallagher in Washington. Includes files from Glacier FarmMedia Network staff.

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After nearly two years of pandemic measures in many countries, opposition has sprung up in different ways with copycat protests in Australia, New Zealand and France as the highly infectious Omicron variant begins to ease in many countries.

Horn-blaring protests have being causing gridlock in the capital Ottawa since late January and from Monday night, truckers shut inbound Canada traffic at the Ambassador Bridge, a supply route for Detroit’s carmakers and agricultural products.

Another major border crossing, at Coutts in southern Alberta, has been closed in both directions since late on Tuesday.

Starting as a “Freedom Convoy” occupying downtown Ottawa opposing a vaccinate-or-quarantine mandate for cross-border truckers mirrored by the U.S. government, protesters have also aired grievances about a carbon tax and other legislation.

“I think it’s important for everyone in Canada and the United States to understand what the impact of this blockage is — potential impact — on workers, on the supply chain, and that is where we’re most focused,” White House spokesperson Jen Psaki said on Wednesday.

“We’re also looking to track potential disruptions to U.S. agricultural exports from Michigan into Canada.”

Washington is working with authorities across the border to reroute traffic to the Blue Water Bridge, which links Port Huron in Michigan with Sarnia in Ontario, amid worries protests could turn violent, she told reporters.

Bank of Canada governor Tiff Macklem called for a swift resolution.

“If there were to be prolonged blockages at key entry points into Canada that could start to have a measurable impact on economic activity,” he said.

“We’ve already got a strained global supply chain. We don’t need this.”

Protests spread

The protests were disrupting jobs too and “must end before further damage occurs,” Canada’s Emergency Preparedness Minister, Bill Blair, told reporters.

The bridge closure has already caused a shortage of parts at carmaker Stellantis’ assembly plant in Windsor.

The company said it had to end shifts early on Tuesday, but the plant was able to resume production Wednesday morning.

The auto industry is also struggling with a lack of semi-conductor chips worldwide.

Protesters say they are peaceful, but some Ottawa residents have said they were attacked and harassed. In Toronto, streets were being blocked.

“We continue to know that science and public health rules and guidance is the best way to this pandemic is the way we’re going to get to the other side,” said Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

The issue has caused a sharp split between the ruling Liberals and the opposition Conservatives, many of whom have expressed open support for the protesters in Ottawa and accuse Trudeau of using the mandates issue for political purposes.

Downtown residents criticized police for their initially permissive attitude toward the blockade, but authorities began trying to take back control Sunday night with the seizure of thousands of litres of fuel and the removal of an oil tanker truck.

Police have asked for reinforcements — both officers and people with legal expertise in insurance and licensing — suggesting intentions to pursue enforcement through commercial vehicle licenses.

But as the authorities attempt to quell demonstrations in one area, they pop up elsewhere.

“Even as we have made some headway in Ottawa, we’ve seen an illegal blockade emerge in Windsor,” said Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino.

— Reporting for Reuters by Carlos Osorio in Windsor, Blair Gable in Ottawa and Jarrett Renshaw in Washington; additional reporting by Anna Mehler Paperny, Steve Scherer and David Ljunggren in Ottawa, Ismail Shakil and Kanishka Singh in Bangalore, Ben Klayman in Detroit and Doina Chiacu in Washington; writing by Denny Thomas and Costas Pitas.

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Demonstrations who at first demanded an end to federal COVID-19 vaccine mandates for cross-border truck drivers began Jan. 28 in the Canadian capital Ottawa and have spilled to Canada-U.S. border crossings at Windsor, Ont. and Coutts, Alta.

Canada sends 75 per cent of its goods exports to the United States, and the Ambassador Bridge between Windsor and Detroit usually handles 8,000 trucks a day, representing a quarter of all cross-border trade, or about $500 million per day.

About $100 million worth of auto parts cross the border each day, with many shipments timed to arrive just as manufacturers need them.

“Twenty-four to 48 hours is critical, and I remain confident that we’re going to resolve this within that critical timeframe,” said Flavio Volpe, president of the Automotive Parts Manufacturers’ Association, who has been talking with both the province and federal government.

Truckers blocked traffic late on Monday, closing the bridge, Canada’s Border Services Agency (CBSA) said, but Canadian police later tweeted that U.S.-bound lanes had opened. As of Tuesday afternoon, the Canada-bound crossing remained closed.

Trucks were being diverted to The Blue Water Bridge, 109 km north on the border between Sarnia, Ont. and Port Huron, Michigan, which remained open, though with long delays for commercial traffic into Canada.

At Coutts, protesters have disrupted cross-border traffic for more than a week. Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino said on Tuesday he had approved a request from Alberta for additional police.

The intermittent closures have bogged down the flow of U.S. corn to Alberta, Canada’s biggest cattle-producing province, as well as trade in cattle and meat, the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association said in a statement.

Canada trucks cattle for slaughter south, through Montana, but those shipments are being halted, said Jay Bodner, executive vice-president of the Montana Stockgrowers Association. Canadian cattle shippers want to avoid having trucks of live cattle delayed at the border because of concerns about animal welfare, he said.

The Coutts crossing sees $44 million per day in two-way trade, said David MacLean, vice-president of the Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters.

Much of Alberta’s manufacturing sector relies on U.S. steel imports to make parts for the oil and gas industry, such as pumps and valves.

“We have uncounted examples of Alberta manufacturers who have equipment sitting on the other side of the border, diverting through North Dakota and Saskatchewan,” MacLean said, adding that the U.S. is also Alberta’s most important export market.

“We can’t sell products sitting on the highway.”

— Reporting for Reuters by Rod Nickel in Winnipeg and Julie Gordon in Ottawa; additional reporting by Amran Abocar in Toronto and Tom Polansek in Chicago.

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“With capability and functionality foundational to (the) F-series, the all-new F-150 not only tows more and hauls more than other light-duty, full-size pickups, it’s built to surpass customer expectations with smart innovations that will make them even more productive every day,” said Todd Eckert, Ford truck group marketing manager, in a press release.

Ford refers to the 2021 F-150 as “all new.” That’s a pretty standard automotive industry phrase, but for this model year the trucks actually do bring a bit of “new” to the table, including features like available Pro Power Onboard, a new interior work surface, and a tailgate work surface. There are also advanced driver-assist features and, of course, better connectivity.

As a part of that digital enhancement, the trucks come with standard capability to download wireless updates to keep the truck’s computer up to date.

Under the hood

The 2021 F-150 is built on an “all-new,” (there’s that phrase again) fully boxed high-strength, steel frame with a high-strength aluminum alloy body and box. When equipped with the 3.5-litre EcoBoost V6 engine and Max trailer tow package, Ford claims the F-150 can boast more conventional towing muscle than any other light-duty, full-size pickup — a maximum 14,000 pounds (6,350 kilograms), which is a jump of 800 pounds (362 kilograms) over the 2020 model. Achieving that rating, though, depends on which engine you opt to put under the hood and what vehicle configuration it’s in.

Speaking of under the hood, buyers can opt for one of six different engine options — the 3.3-litre Ti-VCT, 2.7-litre EcoBoost V6, 5.0-litre V8, 3.5-litre V6 EcoBoost gas power plants or the 3.0-litre PowerStroke V6 diesel. All F-150 engines are mated with Ford’s 10-speed automatic transmission.

For 2021, the 5.0-litre V8 gets five more horsepower and 10 more pound-feet of torque. The 3.5-litre EcoBoost engine output grows by 25 horsepower and torque rises by another 30 foot-pounds.

In addition to those more conventional power plants is the new 3.5-litre PowerBoost V6 hybrid gas-electric drivetrain. It’s what’s really new and remarkable on the 2021 F-150 option list.

And don’t think this new drivetrain option turns an F-150 into some wimpy grocery getter. The hybrid puts out 430 horsepower with 570 pound-feet of torque. That is the highest torque rating Ford has ever stuffed into an F-150. The trailer tow rating for this engine is 12,700 pounds (5,760 kilograms) and it can carry 2,120 pounds (961 kilograms) of payload, which, Ford claims, gives the F-150 the highest tow rating of any hybrid pickup on the market — so far, at least.

And the hybrid offers 2.4 kilowatts of exportable power and an available 7.2 kilowatts, apparently enough to power 28 average-sized refrigerators. That kind of power source would be handy for using electric tools in the field.

And more features

The new Trailer Reverse Guidance feature uses the truck’s high-resolution cameras to provide multiple views along with graphics that tell drivers which way to turn the steering wheel when backing up with a trailer. The Pro Trailer Backup Assist feature Ford introduced a few years ago includes a separate dial to use when backing up a trailer to make it simpler for those who have trouble with that manoeuvre.

When it comes to connectivity, the 2021 F-150 does more than just accept wireless vehicle updates from Ford. It offers a standard 4G LTE modem with Wi-Fi hotspot.

If you’re wondering what the PowerBoost Hybrid does for fuel economy, published Transport Canada ratings show a combined 9.3 litres per 100 kilometres for a two-wheel drive pickup and 9.8 for the 4X4. The other engines range from 10.8 to 13.1. That 13.1 litres per 100 kilometres comes from the 5.0-litre V8 4X4, the least fuel-efficient of all the models. But it’s also the largest engine — and if you’re a believer in the idea there’s no replacement for displacement, that’s the price you’ll pay in an F-150.

Ford has Tremors

Ford added some serious off-road chops to its F-150 with the introduction of the very capable Raptor model a few years ago. For 2021, though, another model designed for improved performance on the trail — or maybe just those rural Saskatchewan roads — joins the F-150 family: the Tremor. It provides a level of capability above that offered by the FX4 off-road package.

“The all-new F-150 Tremor is a direct response to seeing how customers use our trucks to enable their outdoor lifestyles,” said Todd Eckert, Ford truck group marketing manager. “F-150 Tremor provides the additional off-road capability they’re looking for with our latest off-road technologies.”

This model comes in SuperCrew configuration with a 5.5-foot box, 3.5-litre EcoBoost V6 engine and 10-speed automatic transmission plus standard four-wheel drive. It’s available in standard, mid and high equipment group trim levels.

From the factory, Tremors ride on 33-inch, all-terrain tires mounted on 18-inch rims. These tires help provide more ground clearance and provide a one-inch-wider track width than a typical F-150. Suspension travel is increased and “Raptor-style” skid plates protect the undercarriage. A locking rear differential and the ability to upgrade to limited slip front axle provide maximum traction in slippery conditions.

Ratings for the Tremor come in at 10,900 pounds (4,944 kilograms) for towing and a 1,885-pound (855-kilogram) payload. There are some high-tech, off-road features as well that make Tremors pretty capable in the dirt, like avail- able Trail Turn Assist, which reduces the steering radius in tight off-road terrain situations by applying brakes to the inside rear wheel in low-speed manoeuvres.

To cap it off, there are several unique exterior and interior style cues as well, which give the Tremor a bit of the macho look you’d expect to find in an off-road rig.

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But like all components that appear in new models of trucks and machinery, engineers had to prove the PowerBoost drivetrain was durable enough to hit the market.

“Just because it’s a hybrid doesn’t mean we treated PowerBoost with kid gloves,” said Craig Schmatz, F-150 chief engineer, in a press release. “To earn Built Ford Tough certification, PowerBoost went through the torture testing we put all of our powertrains through. No F-150 powertrain gets a pass — we have one standard for quality and durability.”

That torture testing included towing fully loaded trailers over desert mountain passes in 100-plus degree (Fahrenheit) temperatures, withstanding rough terrain off-road, tolerating sub-zero temperatures, and enduring high-humidity chambers, salt baths and really bad roads, according to the company.

But on top of the usual procedures, engineers added a durability test specifically for the PowerBoost. Ford built a custom testing machine using “multi-axis hydraulic actuation” (basically a jounce test) to violently shake the powertrain’s 1.5-kilowatt-hour lithium-ion battery — simulating conditions like hitting the worst potholes and washboard roads. Putting the battery through just 82 hours on this machine is the equivalent of 10 years of mechanical torture.

“This thing is like a mechanical bull on steroids,” said Jack Parnoutsoukian, high-voltage application engineer at Ford.

One of the test routes driven by a PowerBoost pickup during R&D was over the Davis Dam in the Mojave Desert of Arizona. It has an 11.4-mile (18.35-kilometre) stretch that climbs 3,500 feet (1,067 metres) with an average six per cent grade and, of course, extreme heat. PowerBoost trucks loaded to the maximum available tow rating of 12,700 pounds (5,761 kilograms) repeatedly climbed and descended the pass to test the full durability of the engine, modular hybrid transmission, cooling systems and towing technologies.

Another test location was at Ford’s Michigan proving grounds. Driven robotically, a PowerBoost travelled over a continuous series of man-made potholed and grooved roads at the Silver Creek test course. Silver Creek includes a dozen distinct types of metal-edged chuckholes repeated for almost a quarter of a mile. Fully loaded to the maximum available payload of 2,120 pounds (962 kilograms), PowerBoost ran the course hundreds of times. That testing location also offers extreme inclines, high-speed ovals and in-water intrusion events for other testing.

All of that, according to Ford, ensures the PowerBoost F-150 can handle what owners would typically subject a pickup to, and survive. Now it’s up to owners to decide if the PowerBoost is as reliable as it should be.

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As the deal kicks in, the Trump administration is threatening Canada with new aluminum tariffs, and a prominent Mexican labour activist has been jailed, underscoring concerns about crucial labor reforms in the replacement for the 26-year-old North American Free Trade Agreement.

The Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement includes tighter North American content rules for autos, new protections for intellectual property, prohibitions against currency manipulation and new rules on digital commerce that did not exist when NAFTA launched in 1994.

Trump had lambasted NAFTA as the “worst trade deal ever made” and repeatedly threatened to end it.

CUSMA launches as the coronavirus has all three countries mired in a deep recession, cutting their April goods trade flows — normally about $1.2 trillion annually — to the lowest monthly level in a decade (all figures US$).

“The champagne isn’t quite as fizzy as we might have expected — even under the best of circumstances — and there’s trouble coming from all sides,” said Mary Lovely, a Syracuse University economics professor and senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics in Washington. “This could be a trade agreement that quickly ends up in dispute and higher trade barriers.”

Issues dogging CUSMA include hundreds of legal challenges to Mexico’s new labour law championed by President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador to ensure that workers can freely organize and unions are granted full collective bargaining rights.

A ruling against it would harm Mexico’s ability to deliver on provisions aimed at ending labour contracts agreed without worker consent that are stacked in favour of companies and have kept wages chronically low in Mexico.

Democrats in the U.S. Congress had insisted on the stronger labour provisions last year before granting approval, prompting a substantial renegotiation of terms first agreed in October 2018. The arrest of Mexican labour lawyer Susana Prieto in early June has fueled U.S. unions’ arguments that Mexican workers’ rights are not being sufficiently protected.

“I remain very concerned that Mexico is falling short of its commitments to implement the legislative reforms that are the foundation in Mexico for effectively protecting labor rights,” U.S. Representative Richard Neal, chairman of the House ways and means committee, said on Tuesday, adding that CUSMA’s success “truly hinges” on its new labour enforcement mechanism.

On Wednesday, U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer in a video touted CUSMA as the “most far-reaching, beneficial and modern trade agreement in our history,” adding that it would create tens of thousands of new U.S. manufacturing jobs.

But Lighthizer has also said he will file dispute cases “early and often” to enforce CUSMA provisions, citing Mexico’s failure to approve U.S. biotech products.

That could lead to increased tariffs on offending goods, such as products from individual factories where labour violations are found. Former USTR general counsel Stephen Vaughn, a legal architect of the Trump administration’s “Section 301” tariffs on Chinese goods, was appointed on Wednesday to a U.S. roster of panelists to settle state-to-state dispute cases under CUSMA.

Carlos Vejar, a former Mexican trade negotiator, said it was in the country’s interest to uphold pledges made to strengthen unions and end child labour.

“If Mexico isn’t mindful of this, there will be cases against Mexico, and Mexico will lose them,” Vejar said.

Aluminum tariffs redux, automotive burdens

U.S. national security tariffs on imported steel and aluminum — including from Canada and Mexico — were a major irritant during CUSMA negotiations until a deal for exemptions was reached last year. But now, USTR is considering domestic producers’ request to restore the 10 per cent duty on Canadian aluminum to combat a “surge” of imports.

Another source of disputes may be the energy sector, where the main U.S. oil and gas lobby has complained that recent actions by Mexico favouring state oil company Pemex already violate CUSMA’s protections for private investors.

Canada has also complained about new Mexican rules formally threatening investment in renewable energy.

CUSMA will put new compliance burdens on the region’s automotive manufacturers as the coronavirus craters consumer spending and auto production. Within three to five years, vehicles’ minimum North American content rises to 75 per cent from 62.5. Automakers must also produce 40 per cent of their vehicles’ content in “high wage” areas — effectively the United States and Canada.

A U.S. International Trade Commission study found this would draw more auto parts production to the United States, but may curb U.S. vehicle assembly and raise prices, limiting consumer choice in cars. The same panel found that after 15 years, the deal would add $68.5 billion annually to U.S. economic output and create 176,000 jobs compared with a NAFTA baseline.

— Reporting for Reuters by David Lawder in Washington, Dave Graham, Anthony Esposito and Daina Beth Solomon in Mexico City and David Ljunggren in Ottawa; writing by David Lawder.

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The legislation for the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (CUSMA) passed on an 89-10 bipartisan vote, sending the measure to President Donald Trump for him to sign into law.

The U.S. House of Representatives, where Democrats hold the majority, passed the legislation on Dec. 19 after insisting on changes to improve enforcement of new labour rights.

Canada still needs to approve the trade deal before it can take effect and replace the 26-year-old North American Free Trade Agreement. Trump has blamed NAFTA for the loss of thousands of U.S. factory jobs to low-wage Mexico.

Canada’s Parliament does not return to session until Jan. 27, so the scheduling of a vote there remains unclear. But USMCA is expected to see little resistance in Canada, as Conservatives have said they would back the deal negotiated earlier by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s Liberal-dominated government.

“Today the Senate will send this landmark agreement to the president’s desk. A big bipartisan win,” Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell said in Senate floor remarks.

The vote comes a day after Trump signed a Phase One trade deal with China, and shortly before the Senate formally began the impeachment trial of Trump on charges that he abused his power.

— Writing for Reuters by David Lawder; additional reporting by Andrea Shalal.

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Canada’s Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland and Mexican Economy Minister Ildefonso Guajardo struck a positive note after a second day of meetings with U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer in Washington to revamp the 24-year-old accord.

“We are certainly in a more intense period of the negotiations and we are making good progress,” Freeland told reporters, saying negotiating teams would stay in Washington over the weekend as the eight-month-old talks continue.

Guajardo, who has often sought to temper optimism for a quick deal, said the ministers would meet again on Tuesday.

“There was a lot of progress made today,” he said.

The three ministers are pressing for a quick deal to avoid clashing with a July 1 presidential election in Mexico, but there have been major differences on several U.S. demands.

Canada and Mexico have battled for months with a U.S. demand for tougher automotive rules of origin. They dictate how much North American content vehicles must contain under NAFTA, which underpins some US$1.2 trillion in annual trilateral trade.

“We continue to work very hard on rules of origin, really the heart of this agreement,” Freeland said.

The Trump administration had initially demanded that North American-built vehicles contain 85 per cent content made in NAFTA countries by value, up from 62.5 per cent at present.

However, auto industry executives said last week that Washington had significantly softened this in an effort to move faster toward a deal in the next few weeks.

President Donald Trump, who has repeatedly threatened to walk away from NAFTA unless major changes are made, says the pact has created jobs in Mexico at the expense of U.S. workers.

Lighthizer instilled fresh momentum into the talks in early March by floating the prospect of a quick deal “in principle.” Still, Mexican and Canadian officials say only an agreement covering the essential details will be viable.

— Jason Lange is Reuters’ U.S. economics correspondent in Washington; writing by Dave Graham.

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