12th US-Mexico CEO Dialogue Dive
In July, the US Chamber of Commerce hosted the 12th US-Mexico CEO Dialogue. Its purpose was to allow participants to vocalize and collaborate on the benefits and challenges of implementing the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA).
The main points of the USMCA, from the office of the US Trade Representative (USTR) are as follows:
• Creating a more level playing field for American workers, including improved rules of origin for automobiles, trucks, other products, and disciplines on currency manipulation.
• Benefiting American farmers, ranchers, and agribusinesses by modernizing and strengthening food and agriculture trade in North America.
• Supporting a 21st Century economy through new protections for U.S. intellectual property, and ensuring opportunities for trade in U.S. services.
• New chapters covering Digital Trade, Anticorruption, and Good Regulatory Practices, as well as a chapter devoted to ensuring that Small and Medium Sized Enterprises benefit from the Agreement.
Neil Herrington, Senior Vice President, Americas, U.S. Chamber of Commerce had this to say, “Two years following the signing of the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), today’s meeting of the US-Mexico CEO Dialogue presented a crucial opportunity to advance US-Mexican objectives of deepening business integration and shared prosperity between the United States and Mexico.”
The key discussions at this dialogue were easing compliance burdens in the automotive sector, cessation of proposals to extend what participants felt were discriminatory “buy American” rules, customs delays, and reporting processes for labor complaints.
United States news outlets were quiet on these matters, but Mexican news outlets reported that Foreign Affairs Minister Marcelo Ebrard had been quoted as saying that over the next two years, that US companies would be investing nearly forty billion dollars in Mexico. This on the heels of President López Obrador’s announcement in June that seventeen US companies had pledged to invest in Mexican green energy projects like solar and wind.
President Obrador summed up the Dialogue on his social media with this statement: “We spoke about economic cooperation, investment, sovereignty and progress with justice.”
However, given what some see as the Mexican government’s recent bid to push private US and Canadian firms out of their energy industry, these firms are saying Mexico is in violation of the USMCA and are seeking relief under the agreement. President Obrador told Reuters the challenge was more about opposition to his policies from those at home rather than interests from those US and Canadian firms. "The argument of using clean energy to do dirty business doesn't work anymore."
If you have questions or concerns about how the USMCA impacts your cargo, reach out to your partners here at SecurCapital.