The second annual deputies meeting for United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) was attended by officials from the U.S., Mexico, and Canada to discuss competitiveness, forced labor, and environmental issues as well as review and provide oversight for the ongoing work by USMCA/CUSMA/T-MEC committees to implement the Agreement.
FORCED LABOR PREVENTION AND THE ENVIRONMENT
Deputy United States Trade Representative Jayme White, Canada’s Deputy Minister for International Trade, Rob Stewart, and Mexico’s Under Secretary of Foreign Trade, Alejandro Encinas, issued a joint statement summarizing their continuing efforts “to ensure that the Agreement’s prohibition on the importation of goods produced with forced labor will soon be in place across North America, moving us together in eradicating the scourge of forced labor from the global trading system.” Deputies also reviewed cooperative efforts to implement the USMCA’s Environmental Chapter noting the U.S. EPA’s progress on cleaning up the Tijuana River Watershed in the United States and Mexico. Canada will host an inclusive trade workshop for the team to drive inclusivity into the committees’ efforts.
Additional topics discussed:
- Agricultural trade
- Agricultural biotechnology
- Competitiveness
- Origin verification
- Private commercial disputes
- Small and medium-sized enterprises
- State-owned enterprises
- Temporary entry
- Trade facilitation
- Trade in goods
- Collaborating to attract investment in North America
USMCA Agreement
The USMCA replaced the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) in 2020 modernizing the rules for trade between the U.S., Canada, and Mexico. The Agreement was established to boost economic growth, create jobs, and increase competitiveness in North American trade while strengthening protections for intellectual property.
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