In a joint statement after the second annual deputies' meeting for the NAFTA successor, U.S., Mexican and Canadian officials said they talked about the concrete steps needed to ensure that goods made with forced labor cannot be imported into Mexico, Canada or the U.S.

Countries participating in the Americas Partnership for Economic Prosperity issued a joint statement on their negotiating intentions Jan. 27. The statement said, in part, "we intend to promote greater economic integration in the region and seek to increase collaboration on customs, trade facilitation, logistics, and good regulatory practices; address non-tariff barriers; and promote sustainable quality investment."

Two U.S. readouts of the meetings between deputies from the three USMCA countries focused on a multitude of irritants and concerns the U.S. has with Canada and Mexico but didn't mention talks on how to resolve the U.S. violation of USMCA in its interpretation of the auto rules of origin (see 2301110058). Mexico and Canada did not issue their own readouts.

The U.K. added seven entries to its Iran (Human Rights) sanctions regime, in a Jan. 23 notice. The Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation imposed the restrictions on five individuals and two entities. The individuals are Salar Abnoush, vice commander of the Basij, an Iranian military unit; Ahmad Fazelian, deputy prosecutor general for Iran's public law affairs; Kiyumars Heidari, Iranian army ground forces commander; Hossein Nejat, deputy commander-in-chief of the Iran Revolutionary Guard Corps at Sarallah headquarters; and Qasem Rezaei, deputy commander of Iran's Law Enforcement Forces. The two entities are the Basij Cooperative Foundation and Basij Resistance Force.

Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, at a joint press conference with President Joe Biden and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, said that the three countries are "creating a joint committee aimed at planning and substituting imports in North America so that we may try to be increasingly self-sufficient in this part of the world and to turn development cooperation into a reality, as well as the well-being of all the countries of our continent. We want that to be a reality."

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce and its analogues in Canada and Mexico asked the three countries' leaders to work on "a quick resolution" of disputes over Mexican energy policies, Canadian dairy tariff-rate quotas and the U.S. position on the auto rules of origin.

Colombia recently raised its most favored nation duties on imports of certain apparel items, the Hong Kong Trade Development Council reported Jan. 6. The change will apply a 40% duty on apparel goods listed in Harmonized System chapters 61 and 62 but will not apply to certain items that were en route to Colombia prior to Jan. 7, the report said. The new duties are primarily aimed at mainland China and won’t affect apparel that qualifies for preferential duty treatment under a free trade deal or another arrangement, the report said, including apparel originating in the U.S. or the EU.

Canada recently released a proposal to strengthen and update its foreign direct investment reviews, the Hong Kong Trade Development Council reported Dec. 16. The proposal could lead to the “most significant update” to the country’s investment screening regime in more than a decade, the report said, and would establish a new filing requirement for investments in a range of “prescribed sectors,” including in cases in which the foreign investor would gain access to “sensitive assets, information, intellectual property or trade secrets.” The proposal also includes stronger penalties for noncompliance with the filing requirements and mitigation agreements.

The Inflation Reduction Act creates opportunities for more North American economic integration, according to a Mexican diplomat and a top General Motors official.

USDA is accepting applications from exporters for its upcoming trade mission in Panama, the agency said Dec. 12. The March 19-23 trade mission will allow U.S. agricultural exporters to meet with Panamanian buyers and other importers from Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua and the Dominican Republic -- participants in the Dominican Republic-Central America Free Trade Agreement, or CAFTA-DR. "This is a perfect time to increase U.S. agricultural and food exports to Central America, where the rising incomes and a growing middle class in Central America are driving demand for consumer-oriented products and more,” said Daniel Whitley, USDA's Foreign Agricultural Service administrator. Applications are due Dec. 30.