NAFTA Officials Pledge Boosted Trade Through TPP and Other Mechanisms
The U.S., Canada and Mexico should strengthen multilateral trade through boosting economic development along the border, supporting entrepreneurship, increasing regulatory alignment and promoting regional investment, said an Oct. 28 Commerce Department statement (here) released following the North American Competitiveness and Innovation Conference in San Diego. Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzer, Canadian Minister of International Trade Ed Fast and Mexican Secretary of Economy Ildefonso Guajardo attended the event.
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“Last year, trade between the U.S., Canada, and Mexico was more than $1 trillion, and NAFTA helped to usher in an era of unprecedented regional cooperation on a broad range of issues that have benefited our countries,” said Pritzker at the conference, referring to the North American Free Trade Agreement. “We must continue to work together in new and creative ways to maintain North America's position as the most innovative and competitive region in the global economy.”
The number of consumers on the North American continent is expected to grow to 630 million by 2060, said the statement, from the current 460 million consumer base. The combined Gross Domestic Product for the three countries registered at $18.7 trillion in 2012, roughly one-quarter of the world’s GDP, the release added. “We pledge to continue helping our businesses grow and our workers succeed through enhanced regulatory cooperation, and coordinated efforts to facilitate increased trade through many initiatives, including the ongoing Trans-Pacific Partnership negotiations,” said the three officials in a separate joint statement (here).