AFTE Calls on USTR to End Unfair Trade Practices in Mexico
WASHINGTON (March 24) — Today, the Alliance for Trade Enforcement and several other business groups submitted a letter to U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai to draw attention to Mexico’s ongoing violations of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement and urge the Biden administration to swiftly take steps to bring Mexico into compliance with the agreement. The letter comes immediately after Ambassador Tai’s first meeting with Mexico Secretary of Economy Tatiana Clouthier. A full list of signatories can be found below.
“Mexico’s failure to adhere to the USMCA over the last nine months has threatened American jobs,” said Brian Pomper, executive director of the Alliance for Trade Enforcement. ” It’s time for USTR to bring Mexico into full compliance with the agreement.”
Mexico’s offenses — which range from blocking permits for energy projects to proposing protectionist policies on cinematographic and audiovisual content to delaying approvals of new biotherapeutic and agricultural products — have continued despite the USMCA coming into force in July 2020. These violations put U.S. companies from a wide array of economic sectors at a disadvantage vis-à-vis their Mexican competitors.
Addressing these USMCA violations would strengthen the United States’ otherwise robust trade partnership with Mexico. After all, U.S.-Mexico trade topped $677 billion in 2019 and supports approximately 5 million U.S. jobs.
“AFTE is hopeful USTR will put a stop to Mexico’s problematic trade practices,” said Pomper. “Our alliance looks forward to working with Ambassador Tai and her team to hold Mexico’s government accountable to the commitments it made in the USMCA.”
The letter’s signatories include:
- ACT | The App Association
- American Bakers Association
- American Petroleum Institute (API)
- Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO)
- Coalition of Services Industries
- Global Innovation Policy Center (GIPC)
- Motion Picture Association (MPA)
- National Association of Manufacturers (NAM)
- National Confectioners Association
- Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA)
- The National Foreign Trade Council (NFTC)
- The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA)
- United States Council for International Business (USCIB)
- The Software and Information Industry Association (SIIA)
- Small Business & Entrepreneurship Council
- Small Business Roundtable
- The Sugar Association
- The Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA)
About the Alliance for Trade Enforcement: The Alliance for Trade Enforcement is a coalition of trade associations and business groups that advocates for foreign governments to end unfair trade practices that harm U.S. innovative industries and supports U.S. policymakers in their efforts to hold our trading partners accountable.