The White House Trade Representative’s Office (USTR) highlighted compliance with the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA).

First and foremost, USTR indicated that enforcement of the USMCA is essential to ensure that Canada and Mexico fully implement the agreement and meet their commitments.

«Our enforcement actions also ensure that the agreement benefits U.S. workers, manufacturers, farmers, fishermen, businesses, families and communities,» USTR said in a report.

For example, on July 20, 2022, USTR announced a request for dispute settlement consultations with Mexico regarding certain measures that harm U.S. companies and U.S.-produced energy in favor of Mexico’s state-owned electric utility and state-owned oil and gas company.

Days earlier, on July 14, 2022, USTR announced the successful resolution of a labor matter raised under the agreement’s Rapid Response Labor Mechanism related to an alleged denial of free association and collective bargaining rights at Panasonic Automotive Systems de Mexico’s facility in Reynosa, Mexico.

USMCA

The United States has also taken broad and strategic steps that advance monitoring and enforcement of the USMCA’s Environment chapter, including requesting Environmental Consultations with Mexico regarding vaquita protection, preventing illegal fishing and totoaba trafficking, and working jointly with Mexico under the U.S.-Mexico Customs Verification and Environmental Cooperation Agreement to investigate the possible importation into Mexico and transshipment into the United States of illegally harvested timber from Colombia.

The USTR, for the second time, requested dispute settlement consultations with Canada under the USMCA, challenging Canada’s tariff-rate quota allocation measures for dairy products.