2024 CUSMA mid-year meeting
January 25, 2024
Following the third mid-year meeting under the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA or “Agreement”), Canada’s Deputy Minister for International Trade, Rob Stewart, Mexico’s Under Secretary of Foreign Trade, Alejandro Encinas N., and Senior Advisor to the United States Trade Representative, Cara Morrow, issued the following statement:
Joint statement
Canada, Mexico, and the United States today held a mid-year meeting in Toronto, Ontario to prepare for the fourth Free Trade Commission (FTC) meeting under the CUSMA. We received updates from six committees (Environment, Labour, North American Competitiveness, Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises, Trade Facilitation, and Private Commercial Disputes) of the Agreement that have convened since the third Free Trade Commission meeting in Cancún, Mexico in July 2023. The continued implementation of the CUSMA is foundational to continued North American economic integration and enhanced regional competitiveness.
Today we shared our views on priorities for 2024 with an eye towards the first six-year review of the CUSMA in 2026, and reaffirmed our commitment to the ongoing and effective implementation of all aspects of the Agreement. We followed up on the results of the second Labor Council meeting hosted by Mexico in June 2023, and noted the importance of continuing the exchange of information on enforcement approaches and best practices related to addressing forced labor risks in supply chains.
We discussed the North American Competitiveness Committee’s important work to implement FTC Decision Number 5, including progress made by the Trilateral Coordination Sub-Committee on Emergency Response, as well as the Committee’s ongoing efforts on workforce development.
We also discussed the second Dialogue on Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) held in Mexico in September 2023, which highlighted the role of women, indigenous communities and other groups traditionally underrepresented in the economy and in trade, and heard from the SME Committee on its preparations for the third SME Dialogue to be hosted by Canada in 2024. We acknowledged the work remaining to complete implementation of the sectoral annexes in Chapter 12 of the CUSMA, and committed to further meetings in 2024 to move forward.
Next steps
The Parties recognized the critical role of the CUSMA in our integrated North American economies, including in ensuring that SMEs and underserved and underrepresented communities benefit more from trade. We also committed to intensify collaboration leading up to the Free Trade Commission meeting to be held in the United States later this year.
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