Reproduced with permission from International Trade Daily, 212 [itd-­‐bul] (Nov. 1, 2013). Copyright 2013 by The Bureau of National Affairs, Inc. (800-­‐372-­‐1033) http://www.bna.com Bloomberg/BNA article -­‐ November 1, 2013
U.S. Officials See Progress, Prospects Concerning North American
Integration
North America Free Trade Agreement
Key Development: Officials see progress on North American integration, prospects.
What's Next: Survey of citizens in NAFTA countries to be released Nov. 1.
By Len Bracken Oct. 31 — U.S. officials cited examples of progress on and prospects for North American
integration Oct. 31 on the first day of a conference on the subject hosted by American
University.
Ricardo Zuniga, special assistant to the president and director of Western Hemisphere
affairs at the National Security Council, said that despite the “deep impact” on border
security caused by the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, the economies of Canada, Mexico and
the U.S. are becoming more integrated.
John Melle, assistant U.S. trade representative for the Western Hemisphere, said the
prospective Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement would be the vehicle to address
any real or perceived failures of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).
The comments from administration officials were prompted by questions from AU
professor Robert Pastor, one of the authors of a new survey on attitudes toward trade and
trilateral cooperation conducted in the NAFTA countries that will be released Nov. 1.
In response to Pastor's contention that the survey showed a preference by citizens for
greater North American integration rather than pursuit of the TPP pact, Melle said TPP
could not be rolled back, adding that Mexico and Canada have shown considerable
leadership in the TPP negotiations.
NAFTA ‘Peaked.'
Pastor asserted that, based on his research, NAFTA “peaked” in 2000 and the rate of
growth in trade and foreign direct investment among the three countries has declined
since then. He noted investments in border security since September 2001 have slowed
trade and that North America's share of global trade also has declined since 2001.
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Zuniga said now that NAFTA has been in effect for nearly 20 years, the three countries
have supply chains that are more integrated than was expected.
Two-way U.S.-Canada services trade reached roughly $600 billion in 2012 and two-way
U.S.-Mexico merchandise trade reached nearly $500 billion the same year, Zuniga said.
He also cited the high level of U.S. content in Mexican exports to the U.S. and the rest of
the world.
In the case of automobiles, he said, materials from all three countries are often used and
can cross borders numerous times. He also cited trusted shipper programs and a new rail
crossing in the Rio Grande Valley that will become operational in 2014 and regulatory
cooperation that is under way with Canada on drug approvals.
He conceded that these were for the most part bilateral initiatives and more could be done
to create a unified North American market.
“We're further than many people expected we would be but not as far as we need to be,”
Zuniga said.
In response to a question, Melle said the decision to pursue TPP was in part based on fact
it is a new negotiation that did not have any “baggage” associated with it. He stressed the
need to cooperate with Congress on all trade negotiations.
By Len Bracken To contact the reporter on this story: Len Bracken in Washington at lbracken@bna.com.
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Jerome Ashton at jashton@bna.com.
The survey can found at http://www.american.edu/sis/cnas/upload/North-AmericaOctober-30-1255-pm-FULL-VERSION.pdf.
[NA/CONF/PRESS/BLOOMBERG-NA CONF AND POLL- NOV 1 2013]