The first meeting of the Free Trade Commission (FTC), a panel established under the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) is now history, taking place the first two days of this week.
The first day saw U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai meet one-on-one with Canadian Trade Minister Mary Ng and separately with Mexican Economy Minister Tatiana Clouthier. Those discussions saw Tai raise several issues, but the readouts from the parties involved did not signal any new or major breakthroughs were scored.
Tuesday saw the three trade chiefs meet together and get presentations from various working group committees that were established under USMCA. Those panels provided various updates on issues and developments they were responsible for.
One of the concrete developments that emerged came from the panel that met on small and medium-sized enterprises. That resulted in the setting up a session October 13-14 in San Antonio, Texas, for a "dialogue" on issues for those businesses. So that is at least a positive.
The joint statement released by the three countries was long on the usual phrases that mark these kinds of meetings -- the talks were labeled "robust" and the three held discussions in which they said they would "recommit to fully implementing, enforcing, and fulfilling the Agreement's terms and high standards throughout the life of the USMCA."
On issues of labor and environment, ones where Tai was expected to push her counterparts to think about putting a climate change component into the deal, those talks were termed "robust, forward-looking discussions." But again, that offers little in terms of substance regarding how the Canadians or Mexicans received what Tai was expected to bring up.
Reports also indicate Mexico raised matters on automotive content rules under USMCA and Mexico called on the U.S. to review its ground transportation rules that provide Mexican truckers access to the U.S. market. The U.S. raised labor issues during sessions, noting that recent matters raised by both the U.S. and Mexico show "how well this can be used by both countries."
On key ag trade topics, there was also little signs there was progress made. The U.S. filed a case late in the Trump administration which charged Canada was not fulfilling its commitments on implementing import quotas for dairy. Tai acknowledged that case in testimony last week before the U.S. Congress, but it's not clear any headway was made -- Ng related she signaled Canada believes it is implementing the provisions in USMCA when it comes to dairy.
As for issues such as Mexico's policies on glyphosate and GMO corn, reports indicate that Mexico's economy ministry the country "reiterated its commitment to ensure compliance with the obligations assumed in the chapter on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures, as well as to promptly address any problems or concerns that may arise."
There also appears to be a difference of opinion between the U.S. and Canada on the issue of softwood lumber, another long-running dispute between the two that has seen the U.S. impose duties on imports of softwood lumber from Canada. Reports said that Ng she pressed the U.S. on its "unwarranted and unfair" tariffs on imports from Canada and the country would defend the sector and also sought to reach some kind of agreement. Interestingly, Tai told U.S. lawmakers last week that she, too, wanted to find some kind of agreement with Canada, but our neighbors to the north were not interested in negotiating.
To be fair, the first meetings involving all three trade chiefs from the three countries should not have been expected to have all of the issues raised by each country resolved. That would have been a major development. But a session like this was more than likely used by each official as a way to "test the waters" and get a read on the official that will be on the other side of the table when it comes to really negotiating on these issues. That's when the statements of "robust" or "productive" talks could take on additional meaning.
For example, an agreement suddenly on something like softwood lumber would have been shock since that dispute has been around for a long, long time.
Keep in mind, this was also the first FTC meeting ever. So all three officials were probably feeling their way a bit relative to what they could -- or perhaps more importantly, couldn't do.
So we will see. The trade issues that existed before the meeting are still there. And it appears there was little ground given by any of the officials. That means these will remain issues to be dealt with along with others that could also come to light in coming weeks and months. So these are clearly matters that farmers need to monitor closely, especially ones that deal with dairy, GMOs and glyphosate, Washington Insider believes.