North American Single Window Has Support, but Not Seen as a Priority, Say Mexican Officials
Mexican, U.S. and Canadian trade officials are fully committed to developing and implementing a unified North American single window portal for the import and export of goods, but the broader trade agenda continues to take precedent over the initiative, said Mexican trade officials at a Peterson Institute of International Economics event on July 15. The U.S. is aiming to implement its single window, the Automated Commercial Environment and International Trade Data System, by 2016 and then will turn its attention to the unified portal, said CBP deputy commissioner Kevin McAleenan in June (see 14061803).
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The three countries have already laid out a “roadmap” for integration of the portals and are working to expedite the implementation process, said Mexican Ambassador to the U.S. Eduardo Medina-Mora. Mexico has completed work on its single window counterpart, and Canada is also working to put its program into place. The U.S.-Mexican border infrastructure is in dire need of improvement, said Medina-Mora, calling the border a “19th century” standard. “These systems, in terms of having a single window and integrated customs facilitation and requirements … are too old,” said Medina-Mora. “In terms of improvements in infrastructure, in terms of certification and recognition of standards, I think that we have tremendous opportunities looking forward.”
NAFTA has already transformed the continent into a unified production platform, he said, noting that the U.S. adds 40 percent value to Mexican imports and 25 percent value to Canadian imports. Meanwhile, the unified single goal realistically remains in its incipient stages, despite the political commitment, said Mexican embassy trade attaché Kenneth Smith Ramos at the event. “There’s no particular mechanism to have a single, unified window between the three countries,” said Ramos. “But there are strong efforts being done under the 21st century border between Mexico and the U.S., this larger initiative, that we’re incorporating into the high-level economic dialogue.” The U.S. and Mexico put into force the 21st Century Border Management Initiative in 2010 to address commerce and security interests (here).
Those security issues, coupled with the focus on brokering and expanding the scope of pending trade agreements, are currently inhibiting progress toward implementing a unified single window, said Manuel Balmaseda del Campo, chief economist at CEMEX, a building materials company. The U.S. is continuing to press forward with Trans-Pacific Partnership and Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership negotiations, while battling with negotiating parties, such as Japan, to secure market access that is palatable to U.S. industry (see 14071105). “Right now there are other priorities on the table,” said del Campo at the event. “I don’t want to say they’re more important, but there are definitely other types of discussions that are taking priority over that.” -- Brian Dabbs