b'4American Journal ofTransportation ajot.com(REVIEWcontinued fromproducts and components. This isSupply chain volatility triggers re-think page 2) of particular importance as coun-able US tariff policies, makingtries like China may attempt to the negotiation that much morecircumvent U.S. tariffs. in procurement negotiation modelscomplex.Addingtothemix,The goal is to ensure that Canada seems to be building acountries who are not party toArtem Koverznev, Global Procurement & Negotiation Leader at BSH Home strongereconomicrelationshipthe agreement arent benefitingAppliances, in an AJOT interview offers insight into how procurement negoti-with Chinasignaled by a Jan- inawaythattheUS,Mexicoations have evolved in this period of business uncertainty.uary 2026 agreement to expandandCanadadonotintend, bilateraltrade,strengthentwo- Harden notes. wayinvestment,anddeepenEvanGiesemann,SeniorBy Stuart Todd, AJOTcooperation inmultiple sectorsManager,WashingtonCouncil, including energy and agricultureEY, adds, As all three partiesOngoingsupplychainvolatility,includingUSfocuses on transforming procurement negotiations possiblywiththeintenttothinkaboutmakingtheagree- importtariffs,rawmaterialcon- frompersonality-drivendiscus-make Canada more independentmentcontinuallyrelevant,straints and AI-driven market shifts,sions into structured, measurable fromtheUSeconomy.Presi- some of the points that are crit- isforcingprocurementspecialistsgovernance systems.dentTrumpthreatenedCanadaicaltothe21stcenturyecon- to rethink long-standing negotiationIn an interview with AJOT, Kover-with an immediate 100% tariffomyincludecooperationonmodels,traditional,intuition-basedznevhighlightshowprocurement if they make a trade deal withadvanced technologies and crit- tactics increasingly breaking downprofessionalsareadaptingnego-China, although on February 11,ical minerals. under such conditions. tiationandsuppliergovernance the US House voted to rescindArtem Koverznev, Global Pro- models to an operating environment Trumps current tariffs on Cana- i ncreASec lArity , r educe curement&NegotiationLeaderincreasinglypronetochangeand dian goods.F rictiOn atBSHHomeAppliances-auncertainty. He began by providing WilltheserecenttensionsThe USMCA would servejoint-venturebetweenGermanan insight into procurement at BSH.betweentheUSandCana- businessesbestifthisreviewgroupsBoschandSiemens,has dianadministrationsnegativelyisusedtoincreaseclarityandemergedasaleadingproponentg lObAlS Ourcingimpact the negotiations? reduce frictions in the system, notof data-driven, Six Sigma-basedA manufacturer of ovens, refrig-I think well have to waitcreate new ones, Craig asserts,negotiation frameworks.erators,washers,dryersanddish-andsee,Hardenresponds.adding that C.H. Robinson hopesHiswork,implementedinArtem Koverznev, global procurementwashers,BSHhadanannual Therearealotofissuesthat(REVIEWcontinued onlarge-scale international environ- leader at BSH Home Appliances turnover in 2024 of 15.3 billion US and Canada need to resolve.page 16) ments and recognized by multiple industry awards,(RE-THINKcontinued on page 8)There are also issues that US and Mexicoareworkingthrough. Some of those issues are within the scope of the USMCA, and others are outside the scope of the agreement. So, its going to be up to each country to navi-gate that.Jason Craig, Senior Director ofGovernmentAffairsatC.H. Robinson, adds, We dont expect the USMCA review to upend the basic spirit of the agreement. The review will likely feel more like a negotiation, and it may be very tense at times. But even as compa-nies reshuffle their sourcing strat-egies and Mexicos export mix is shifting rapidly toward electronics andmachinery,NorthAmerica continues to function as a tightly linkedproductionecosystem. Regardless of what new arrange-mentendsupbeingtheresult ofthisUSMCAreviewprocess, manufacturing in North America is likely to remain beneficial.Jason Craig, Senior Director of Government Affairs, C.H. RobinsonS ubject tOr eviewThe whole purpose of the review is to assess whether the parties are holding up their end of the bargain, implementing the commitments theyve made, and to decide whether the rules that were negotiated still make sense today, says Harden of EY. The USadministrationhasbeen fairly transparent in identifying areas where it would like to see change.Forexample,address-ingimplementationandcom-pliancechallengesthattheUS might want to raise with Canada or Mexico.The experts also agree that rules of origin will be a primary topic of the review, to ensure vis-ibility of the national source of'