NAFTA Free Trade Commission Meets in Mexico

News Date March 27, 2006

        Last week, the NAFTA Free Trade Commission, including Sergio Garc¡a de Alba, Mexico's secretary of economy; the Honorable David L. Emerson, Canada's minister of international trade, and Ambassador Rob Portman, United States trade representative, met in Acapulco, Mexico. In a statement, the commission members noted that they had laid important groundwork for the Security and Prosperity Partnership Conference among President George Bush, President Vicente Fox, and Prime Minister Stephen Harper for this week in Cancun.
        They discussed the changing global commercial environment and its implications for Mexico, Canada and the U.S. Plus, reaffirmed each country's commitment to NAFTA as the cornerstone for strengthening North American competitiveness in today's global economy. In addition, they committed to achieving concrete, commercially-relevant results that will continue to ease the flow of goods, services, and capital between our three countries. Specifically, work was initiated that will focus on sectors and the removal of specific impediments to the free flow of goods, services and capital. The countries agreed to conduct a thorough review of the operation of the NAFTA working groups and committees in order to identify potential improvements and future work and to examine how our three countries might collaborate in the trade agreements with other countries and how elements of the free trade agreements might inform improvements to NAFTA practices such as transparency and trade facilitation. Officials agreed to report back to ministers in six months on these issues. The full statement can be located at http://www.ustr.gov/ under "Top News." (Contact: Jennifer Yezak)