Together with his counterparts from the United States and Canada, Juan Gallardo Thurlow, president of the CULTIBA Council and leader of the International Affairs Committee of the Mexican Business Council of Mexico, highlighted the upcoming North American Leaders Summit.

At the regional level, Mexico is a member of the USMCA, which replaced NAFTA in 2018.

The T-MEC, signed by the presidents of Mexico, the United States and Canada on November 30, 2018, aims to modernize the free trade relationship between the three countries.

Then, on June 19, 2019, the Mexican Senate ratified the USMCA.

Finally, on December 10, 2019, representatives of the three nations signed the Modifying Protocol of the Treaty between Mexico, the United States and Canada.

In particular, the Modifying Protocol includes changes to the provisions of the USMCA related to work, the environment and the resolution of disputes.

Gallardo Thurlow

The North American Leaders Summit will be the first in the last five years.

At that Summit, to be held on November 18, the President of Mexico, Andrés Manuel López Obrador will have bilateral meetings with his counterpart from the United States, Joe Biden, and the Canadian Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, to address issues such as economic integration. , migration and health.

Gallardo Thurlow’s peers are Lance Fritz, Chairman of the Board, President and CEO of Union Pacific Corporation and Leader of the Trade and International Affairs Committee of the Business Roundtabl, and Don Lindsay, Chairman and CEO of Teck Resources Limited and Chairman of the Business Council of Canada.

«The Trilateral Leaders Meeting comes at a critical time for our continent as our countries continue to work together to respond to the Covid-19 pandemic, strengthen supply chains, and ensure a competitive and prosperous North America,» said the three business leaders, in a joint statement.

The three organizations urged Leaders to work together on a comprehensive economic partnership and trilateral North American agenda to enhance North America’s competitiveness and innovation leadership.

«At their meeting, we urge the three leaders to focus on promoting a competitiveness, resilience, innovation and sustainability agenda in North America and commit to the full implementation of the T-MEC,» they added.

They also called for leveraging the USMCA to establish diverse, flexible and resilient regional supply chains; improve energy independence and sustainability; support the digital economy and facilitate trade for the benefit of companies, farmers and workers in the three countries. This includes addressing the current challenges of implementing the USMCA.

Lastly, they called for working collaboratively to address climate change and ensure North America’s energy security.