USMCA partners urged to form joint economic security mechanism to address China challenge
US, Mexico and Canada encouraged at US trade hearing to oversee ‘pragmatic and specific plan’ to strengthen economic rules against China
The hearing convened by the Office of the US Trade Representative on Wednesday – the first public session before next July’s joint review of the free trade deal – kicks off three days of testimony from more than 140 representatives from business, think tanks, academia and advocacy groups.
“One cannot make a strategic argument about the value of economic integration without also having a pragmatic and specific plan for ensuring that integration reduces, rather than exacerbates, economic and national security risks,” said Emily Kilcrease, a senior fellow at the Centre for a New American Security think tank.
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In a written submission, she recommended that the three North American economies create an “economic security committee” to oversee implementation of such commitments.