In 2011, the Advisory Committee on Supply Chain Competitiveness (ACSCC) was formed to provide the secretary of commerce with detailed advice on the elements of a comprehensive national freight infrastructure and freight policy to support US supply chain and export competitiveness. The committee’s work is intended to further the administration’s export, economic, and job growth goals. The economies of the North American countries are deeply intertwined. The trade of goods and services among the United States, Mexico, and Canada has increased 166 percent since 1990, outpacing the increase of trade between the United States and the rest of the world. More than one in every seven American jobs is now related to trade with Mexico and Canada.
North America has become stronger, competing in the global economy by removing barriers to trade and investment within the region, leading to integrated supply chains that are designed to improve the overall performance of the North American industries, consolidate manufacturing, and drive down costs. Integrated supply chains have created 5 million new US jobs through North American Free Trade Agreement-related exports, with nearly 40 percent of US imports from Mexico originated with US companies.
The ACSCC members identified four key areas critical to modernizing NAFTA and asked the secretary of commerce to share the detailed information with the relevant federal government agencies. The committee feels these issues are vital to the competitiveness of businesses in the United States as they are the driving force behind an efficient, seamless, and secure US supply chain that will increase and improve opportunities for US export growth.
- Border crossing infrastructure processes
- Data sharing and integration
- Streamlining and expediting customs procedures
- Address digital economy and e-commerce opportunities
NAFTA modernization provides an opportunity to improve trade processes with Canada and Mexico, making the region more competitive against other trade blocks.