Mexico, the US and Canada agreed that almost four years after the entry into force of the USMCA, it continues to strengthen the competitiveness and resilience of the South American region.
At the fourth meeting of the Free Trade Commission of the Agreement between Mexico, the United States and Canada (USMCA), the three countries agreed to jointly expand their collaboration to examine issues related to non-market policies and practices of other countries, which, they assured , affect and harm the workers of the three nations in the automotive sector and others.
According to information from the Ministry of Economy, the secretary of the branch, Raquel Buenrostro; the United States Trade Representative, Katherine Tai; and Canadian Minister of Export Promotion, International Trade and Economic Development Mary Ng led discussions on inclusive trade and the environment.
In this sense, the ministers agreed that trade is an important tool to address global environmental challenges and promote shared sustainability goals.
The ministers reaffirmed their commitment to prioritizing inclusivity in the achievement of business and environmental objectives, by discussing efforts to promote effective stakeholder participation as a cornerstone of the next five-year review of the implementation and operation of the Environment Chapter .
North American Competitiveness
The three officials agreed that almost four years after the entry into force of the USMCA, it continues to strengthen the competitiveness and resilience of the North American region.
They discussed issues of North American competitiveness and cooperation on banning the import of goods produced with forced labor, while directing the committees to redouble their efforts to advance full implementation of the treaty to help ensure that the North American economy of the region continues to serve as a model of competitiveness, with robust, widespread and equitable growth.
The ministers applauded the recent meeting of the three countries’ investment promotion agencies and offices, hosted by Canada, which focused on best practices for attracting investment in North America and areas of possible future collaboration.
Small and medium businesses
The ministers reiterated their commitment to promoting mechanisms to increase the integration of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) into regional and global supply chains. Likewise, the work to promote SMEs led by women and indigenous communities was highlighted.
Labor rights and cooperation to prohibit the importation of goods produced with forced labor
The ministers reaffirmed their commitment to defending the rights of workers established in the USMCA, including the rights to freedom of association and collective bargaining. They hosted a roundtable with labor stakeholders to hear their perspectives on the importance of promoting inclusive, worker-centered trade policy.
The Ministry of Economy assured that the USMCA’s commitment to prohibit the importation of goods produced using forced or compulsory labor and its implementation in the three parties provides the opportunity to achieve a global impact.
The ministers reiterated their commitment to addressing forced labor in supply chains and discussed opportunities to continue sharing best practices, experiences and lessons learned in relation to combating forced labor and other forms of labor exploitation.
Future actions
The ministers highlighted that the meeting marked the fourth year on the path towards the joint six-year review of the USMCA, and stressed the importance of moving towards its full implementation in the next two years. The three countries hope to hold a meeting of deputy ministers before the end of this year to evaluate the progress made on the priorities discussed.
Source: forbes
