WASHINGTON — North America’s three trading partners are in Cancún, Mexico, for two days of meetings to review the past three years of the United States-Mexico-Canada trade agreement.
Canadian International Trade Minister Mary Ng speaks with US Trade Representative Katherine Tai and Raquel Buenrostro, Mexico’s Secretary of Economy.
Tai’s political entourage says the United States exported nearly $790 billion in goods and services under the trade deal in 2022, up 31 percent from 2012. Commerce estimates that North American exports supported some 2.1 million jobs in 2021.
In particular, the three parties are expected to discuss a review of the agreement, which requires a full assessment by June 2026.
But Minister Ng hopes Mexico and the United States will seize the chance to ensure the deal survives. In his opinion, the trade agreement between the three countries is the most successful in the world. “This agreement, as negotiated, provides both predictability and stability for 16 years, until 2036,” she said. “The regular reviews, including the 2026 one, are an opportunity to create even more certainty to extend the agreement beyond 2036.”
Canada and Mexico also want to ensure that the United States respects a panel ruling issued earlier this year that rejected how it classifies foreign automotive content. For Minister Ng, this issue has been high on her agenda for months and in her opinion, one of the most vital aspects of an international trade agreement is that all parties abide by its terms.
“The rules that underpin all of us through this agreement are rules that we all appreciate and that we must all respect,” she said. “We are also all working to tackle climate change _ and the automotive sector plays a very important role in this with electric vehicles _ and we are making sure to create stability and certainty for the sector. »
The court ruling, released in January on the heels of the North American Leaders’ Summit, found that the US interpretation of foreign content rules for automobiles was inconsistent with the terms of the agreement, which increased content in regional value authorized for auto parts at 75%, compared to 62% previously.
In a basic component such as an engine, for example, a part can be considered to have 100% North American origins once the regional threshold of its various elements is reached. This is an essential step in determining which vehicles are deemed duty free.
The United States had attempted to argue for a more rigid interpretation of the language of the agreement, but the panel flatly rejected that argument.
Since then, the United States has remained silent on how it intends to respond, and officials in Katherine Tai’s office gave no clues during a telephone briefing Wednesday on whether the meetings this week would provide clarification. “We are engaging with Mexico and Canada to find a positive solution,” said an official, speaking on condition of anonymity under the terms of the call. “We want a solution that will benefit all parties by improving motor vehicle production and jobs in North America. »
Officials added that there are also two lingering points of contention for the United States: Mexico’s production of genetically modified corn and Canada’s rigidity over dairy export quotas. However, these topics are subject to separate dispute resolution efforts.
2023-07-06 08:25:09
#USACanadaMexico #twoday #review #meeting #trade #agreement
