U.S. Commerce Secretary Gary Locke, hosted a meeting for North America’s Industry Ministers. Tony Clement, Canada’s Minister of Industry, and Bruno Ferrari, Mexico’s Secretary of Economy, were in attendance. They discussed the importance of trilateral cooperation on issues such as the National Export Initiative. The leaders agreed to identify ways to encourage small and medium-sized firms to export their goods and services. Secretary Locked added:

U.S. Commerce Secretary, Gary Locke, hosted a meeting for North America's Industry Ministers. Tony Clement, Canada’s Minister of Industry, and Bruno Ferrari, Mexico’s Secretary of Economy, were in attendance. They discussed the importance of trilateral cooperation on issues such as the National Export Initiative. The leaders agreed to identify ways to encourage small and medium-sized firms to export their goods and services. Secretary Locked added:

The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), implemented in 1994, created the world’s largest free trade area, stimulating exports between the U.S., Canada, and Mexico by eliminating tariffs and creating international rights for business investors. NAFTA ultimately produced sales of $17 trillion, establishing a model that was adopted globally. For new members, however, managing the red tape can be daunting and potentially risky.

Given the advantages of NAFTA and other free trade agreements, exporters and importers seek to widen the advantages of reduced duty impact by participating in trade agreements.

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Reuters announced that the US and South Korea have plans to meet to further discuss the KORUS Free Trade Agreement.

CBP and the Treasury Department have carefully reviewed the comments submitted in response to the rules of origin proposal. In particular, the agencies have heard concerns expressed about the impact that an extension of the rules of origin to non-NAFTA countries may have on the trade community. These matters are still under consideration within the agencies as part of the official rule-making process; however, CBP expects to soon be publishing a notice on this matter in the Federal Register. (In July 2008, CBP issued a proposed rule to use uniform tariff shift and other rules for CBP determinations of the country of origin of imported merchandise, etc. CBP subsequently extended the comment period and reopened the comment period on the proposed rule.)'

The US has squashed a potential free trade agreement with Taiwan over disputes concerning US beef.

I have been updating the trade compliance calendar today, and found this upcoming webinar from Sandler Travis & Rosenberg, PA. It's free, so please sign up as it will help use your trade compliance superpowers to come to the aid of Haiti.

On My 6, China, Japan and South Korea kicked off a joint research project that focuses on setting up a free trade area (FTA) among the three nations. The first round of meetings took place in South Korea. The three nations will make efforts to complete the joint research ahead of the trilateral leaders' meeting of the three countries in 2012.