Mexico Pitched Joint Cargo Processing, Manifest Harmonization Language for NAFTA, Embassy Official Says

ATLANTA -- Customs proposals put forth by Mexico during the NAFTA renegotiation include language covering joint cargo processing along the U.S.’s southern border and manifest harmonization, Jose Garcia, representative for taxation and customs affairs at the Mexican Embassy in Washington, said Dec. 5, during the CBP East Coast Trade Symposium. “These are new ideas Mexico has put on the table,” Garcia said.

During a North American cargo processing panel that briefly touched on NAFTA, Garcia, who represents Mexican customs in six of NAFTA’s 23 negotiating groups, added that good progress has been made in the areas of customs and trade facilitation, and several other areas. Mexico’s approach has been to enhance and modernize the agreement, and to propose ideas that “facilitate and expand trade” among the parties, he said. Disagreement between the U.S., Canada and Mexico over de minimis thresholds is hampering closure of an updated NAFTA customs chapter, an area in which talks have otherwise progressed significantly (see 1712010039).

Garcia was responding to a question from Retail Industry Leaders Association Vice President for International Trade Hun Quach, who noted that some contentious U.S. proposals are “making it tough to reap some of the beneficial areas of the NAFTA negotiations,” including “really positive steps” on areas including customs and digital trade during talks. Problematic proposals include one to allow U.S. agriculture producers in a certain region to band together and use seasonal data as a basis for antidumping and countervailing duty case petitions on perishable imports, and another regarding third-country dumping, Quach said. USTR didn’t comment.