The Ministry of Economy published a list of 64 frequently asked questions about the Treaty between Mexico, the United States and Canada (USMCA).
The USMCA contains disciplines similar to the Comprehensive and Progressive Trans-Pacific Partnership Treaty (TIPAT, or CPTPP for its acronym in English). Among others, it regulates electronic payment systems and establishes the prohibition of requiring the location of servers with continuous access to information. The obligations in this chapter are subject to the investor-State mechanism.
These are questions 25 to 27 on the USMCA, answered by the Ministry of the Economy:
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How many professions can benefit from the provisions of Chapter 16 of Temporary Entry of Business Persons of the USMCA?
There is another section that includes 63 professions (APPENDIX 2 – PROFESSIONALS – of the chapter), which can benefit from the provisions of the Chapter.
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What are the main provisions incorporated in Chapter 17 of Financial Services of the USMCA?
- Allows the cross-border provision of financial services between Mexico, the United States and Canada, subject to applicable legislation, without requiring that providers establish themselves in the country in which they will supply their services, but retaining the right to establish appropriate regulation and oversight thereof.
- It incorporates clauses of National Treatment and Most Favored Nation Treatment with the purpose of eliminating any treatment that could put financial service providers at a disadvantage, compared to their national, regional or third-country competitors.
- Includes prudential measures to safeguard the integrity and stability of the financial system.
- Does not discriminate against service providers that supply new financial services.
- Allows the transfer of information by electronic means.
- It does not require that servers be located in one of the territories of the Treaty countries as a condition for doing business in that territory, as long as the financial regulatory authorities of that country have immediate, direct, complete and continuous access to the processed information or stored on servers, for regulatory and supervisory purposes.
- Provides a consultation mechanism to address any matter that affects the financial services of any of the Parties.
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What do the non-conforming measures refer to in Chapter 17 of the USMCA Financial Services?
- In order to consolidate the level of liberalization of the legal framework, the chapter is complemented by a list of non-conforming measures in which, through a negative list approach, the Parties indicate the activities and economic sectors in which the provisions on National Treatment, Most Favored Nation Treatment, Market Access and Senior Executives and Boards of Directors.
- The list contains two sections:
- Section A, based on the principles of ratchet and consolidation (standstill), which ensure that the Parties will not adopt more restrictive measures in the future and will automatically apply any future liberalization, without the possibility of subsequently revoking it.
- Section B, in which the Parties include the sectors and sensitive activities for each one of them and in which they reserve the right to regulate and adopt any measure, with total discretion, in the future, regarding National Treatment, Treatment Most Favored Nation, Access to Markets, Consolidation of Cross-Border Trade and Senior Executives and Boards of Directors.
