Council of the Americas Strongly Endorses Canadian and Mexican Entrance into Pacific Trade Negotiations

August 1, 2012

Council of the Americas welcomes and fully endorses today's announcement by U.S. President Barack Obama that Canada will join negotiations for the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), joining yesterday's announcement on Mexico. The combination of these two trade partners joining with the United States to build the TPP is a major advance for the U.S. trade agenda both in Asia and also in the Western Hemisphere. This is a step long advocated by the Council of the Americas as a means to deepen North American economic integration, build U.S. competitiveness, strengthen relations with critical trade partners, and promote a strategic vision for Western Hemisphere trade.

According to John Negroponte, Council of the Americas Chairman and former U.S. Deputy Secretary of State: "The entrance of Canada and Mexico—our top two export markets—allows North America to take full advantage of a common production platform, increasing our competitiveness which creates jobs and improves people's lives. The Council applauds the U.S. administration and its TPP partners for taking this important, visionary step."

In the absence of progress to conclude the WTO Doha discussions, the Trans-Pacific Partnership is the emerging gold standard on global trade. It can also be a key component in the pursuit of broader U.S. policy goals in the Western Hemisphere. A report by the Council of the Americas' Trade Advisory Group explains that the TPP "could well be the most promising future driver of hemispheric trade expansion, given the desire of many nations in the region to link more closely with Asia, the coincidence of interests with the United States... and the high-standards approach that the original parties have promoted through the agreement."