Business Groups Across North America Call for Dispute Resolutions
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce and its analogues in Canada and Mexico asked the three countries' leaders to work on "a quick resolution" of disputes over Mexican energy policies, Canadian dairy tariff-rate quotas and the U.S. position on the auto rules of origin.
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In an open letter published Jan. 8, the Chamber, Consejo Coordinador Empresarial and Business Council of Canada said: "We further encourage all three governments to negotiate, through dialogue and cooperation, resolution of ongoing challenges -- such as the potential ban on genetically modified corn -- in a manner that allows for dispute resolution procedures to be avoided."
They said the three countries have made efforts to bolster regional economic competitiveness, comply with the trade agreement's commitments and expand trade since the last leaders' meeting in late 2021, but said, "important work remains to achieve these goals."
National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan told reporters in Mexico City on Jan. 9 that President Joe Biden and Mexican President Andres Manuel López Obrador would be talking about clean energy cooperation, supply chains and "a larger economic vision of North America that involves high labor standards, high environmental standards, and as much positively reinforcing economic activity as possible that allows the United States to be the manufacturing powerhouse that President Biden has talked about but also is a win-win for Mexico and Canada, and reduces our dependencies on other countries and other parts of the world who don't necessarily share the same values that we share with our partners here in North America."