Mexico

America First Policies, a conservative advocacy group aligned with President Trump, this week began running ads touting the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement and urging Congress to approve it.

The U.S. International Trade Commission on Friday launched an investigation into the likely economic impacts of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement, a key element of the process -- and timing -- of implementing the deal in the U.S.

Mexico demanded a cultural exemption in the U.S.-Mexico-Canada agreement after Canada was able to preserve its own carveout, Jesús Seade, chief NAFTA negotiator for Mexican president-elect Andrés Manuel López Obrador, said on Wednesday.

The U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement includes a chapter dedicated to digital trade issues, with new language bolstering internet service provider protections, open government data and cooperation on cybersecurity issues.

A new state-owned enterprise chapter in the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement expands the definition of SOEs but otherwise largely mirrors language in the Trans-Pacific Partnership, drawing praise from key trade advisers.

Economic counselors from the Canadian and Mexican embassies in the U.S., along with former USTR officials, this week debated what comes next for the new U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement as the three countries proceed toward ratification and implementation.

“The kind of people who don’t know very much about what’s going on [should] sit down and loosen their belt and their tie and breathe 10 times and then just read something about it and then they’ll realize how they don’t know what they’re talking about.”