Mexican Ambassador Praises USMCA During Talk Reviewing Her Tenure
The importance and size of the Mexico-U.S. trading relationship does not receive enough recognition in the U.S., Mexico's outgoing ambassador to the U.S., Martha Barcena, said Feb. 5 during an event hosted by the Center for Strategic and International Studies. Mexico is the U.S.'s no. 1 trading partner, she said, and the economies are inexorably linked, with the automobile supply chain as just one example of it. One piece of a car will cross the border an average of seven times before final assembly, she said.
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Barcena highlighted the accomplishments evident in USMCA, including the rules of origin requirements, which will promote greater investment in North America. Also, “it's a new template for trade agreements we will see in the future,” she said. “That includes labor rights, environmental standards,” and “new chapters that were not included in NAFTA, like digital trade, mechanisms to incorporate into the value chains small and medium-sized enterprises, and how to take into account the opinion of indigenous communities and gender issues.” Barcena also expressed optimism about U.S. trade representative nominee Katherine Tai's ability to take up the mantle of continued USMCA implementation.