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

Mexico City. Although there are implementation challenges, Mexico, the United States and Canada have agreed to continue making progress towards greater trade integration in the region, the three countries’ Commerce Undersecretaries said in a joint statement Thursday.

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 pledged to follow up with their own teams to provide additional guidance and inform ministers of progress ahead of the Federal Trade Commission meeting later this year.

For Mexico, there was Luz Maria de la Mora, undersecretary 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 an update 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.