U.S. taking lead in trade talks

Deputy USTR Jeffrey Gerrish says, “We have called on Mexico and Canada to increase transparency, simplify processes.”

   The United States is taking a leadership role on customs issues in the NAFTA renegotiation and in the context of the World Trade Organization Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA), Deputy U.S. Trade Representative Jeffrey Gerrish said Wednesday during the U.S. Customs and Border Protection 2018 Trade Symposium in Atlanta.
   “We are seeking that Mexico and Canada offer treatment that is reciprocal to our world-leading customs service and border procedures,” he said. “In the NAFTA renegotiations, we have called on Mexico and Canada to increase transparency, simplify processes and ensure a high level of integrity and fairness with respect to customs and trade facilitation.”
   The United States is working within the WTO Trade Facilitation Committee and bilaterally with WTO members to ensure that TFA implementation is true to the commitments taken on by U.S. trading partners, Gerrish said.
   To reflect U.S. priorities are reflected in TFA implementation, the U.S. is offering technical assistance to countries that need it and is working within that WTO committee to expedite TFA implementation by all members, he said.
   The United States offers direct TFA assistance through the U.S. Agency for International Development, State Department, the Commerce Department Commercial Law Development Program and through U.S. government engagement with the World Customs Organization, which CBP contributes to, Gerrish said.