La Jornada – Despite challenges, the United States, Canada and Mexico are promoting regional integration

Mexico City. Despite the fact that there are challenges in implementation, Mexico, the United States and Canada have agreed to continue its progress towards greater trade integration in the region, the three countries’ trade agents said Thursday in a joint statement.

At the conclusion of a meeting of undersecretaries at T-MEC, which was the virtual headquarters of Mexico, representatives of each country agreed to promote regional economic recovery by promoting North American integration.

They also committed to following up with their teams to provide additional guidance and to inform ministers of progress ahead of the Federal Trade Commission meeting later this year.

For Mexico it was Luz Maria de la Mora, Under Secretary of Commerce in the Ministry of Economy; For the United States, Jamie White, Deputy Trade Representative and Canada, David Morrisund, Deputy Secretary of International Trade.

Officials reaffirmed their commitment to making North America a resilient, inclusive and competitive economic zone with trade policies that promote equitable growth, foster innovation, help protect the common environment and benefit societies.

During the meeting, the committees established under the agreement provided updates on their work to advance key implementation issues.

According to the joint statement, Mexico, the United States and Canada held substantive discussions on four broad thematic issues, including: labor, the environment, inclusive trade (including SMEs and competitiveness), and state-owned enterprises.