Mexico, United States of America yes Canada on Tuesday it agreed to create an import substitution committee in North America from Asia.
This was announced by President Andrés Manuel López Obrador as part of the agreements of the X summit of North American leaders, which was also attended in Mexico City by US President Joe Biden and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
All three countries are part of the Treaty between Mexico, the United States and Canada (T-MEC), entered into force on 1 July 2020.
In 2020, the United States received 17.6% of exports of goods and services from the rest of the world (excluding intra-EU exports from the European Union).
In contrast, the United States supplied 13.6% of imports of goods and services to the rest of the world (excluding intra-community imports from the European Union).
Between 2018 and 2021, trade (exports and imports of goods and services) accounted for between 24 and 28 percent of US gross domestic product (GDP).
López Obrador explained that this trilateral committee will be made up of 12 experts from the three countries.
Mexico’s correspondents will be Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard; Finance Secretary Rogelio Ramírez de la O; the Secretary of the Economy, Raquel Buenrostro, and the honorary adviser to the Presidency, Alfonso Romo.
Import substitution
The United States maintains one of the most open trade regimes in the world; according to the data of WTOin 2021 the arithmetic average tariff NMF extension from the United States it was 3.34%, if we consider the restricted level, and 2.34%, if we take the weighted average of trades as a basis.
As regards the duties actually applied (i.e. estimated taking into account GSP and other tariff preferences, as well as the increase in duties resulting from the measures adopted under Articles 232 and 301), the weighted average tariff for trade in the United States was 3.0% in 2021.
In comparison, the simple average of final captive tariffs of our five largest trading partners (European Union, Canada, Mexico, China and Japan) range from 4.6 to 36.5%, the simple average of applied tariffs range from 4.0 to 7.5% and the weighted average tariff for trade varies from 2.4 to 4.1%.
66% of all US imports in 2021 (including those made under preferential programs) entered the country tax-free.
The United States is also among the countries with the fewest non-tariff barriers in the world.
US utility markets are open to foreign suppliers, with limited exceptions, and the country’s regulatory processes are transparent, accessible, and open to public comment.
