Afternoon Coffee: New Trade Deal for North America Reached, Port of San Diego Hit by Cyberattack

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The U.S. and Canada beat a deadline Sunday to salvage the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), forming a new trilateral pact with Mexico called the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), Reuters reports. One of the many new features of the deal are adjustments to the rules of origin for auto parts. The required percentage of regional auto production will rise to 75% from 62.5% with the new accord.

Port Cyberattack

The Port of San Diego was hit by a cyberattack last week, affecting public records requests and business services, Smart Cities Dive reports. The ransomware mainly affected administrative systems and did not disrupt normal port operations. Officials are concerned, however, that this is far from the last attack, as port authorities and individual ships are considered “relatively easy to hack.”

Copper Prices

Copper continued its losing streak in the third quarter after having fallen 15% this year, The Wall Street Journal reports. Analysts are now waiting for positive news on a potential compromise in the ongoing U.S.-China trade war for any chance of reversing the copper trend, with prices having risen 9% from their mid-August lows on those hopes.

Consumer Spending

And finally, an economic update: Consumer spending cooled in August compared with stronger gains over the last five months, according to MarketWatch. Spending rose a seasonally adjusted 0.3% last month, the smallest gain since February, while personal income also rose 0.3%.