Conference Proceedings
Forging a New Path in North American Trade and Immigration
Proceedings of the 2019 Conference on the United States–Mexico–Canada Agreement
This conference, held Sept. 26–27, 2019, at the Dallas Fed, explored what the future would bring to this deep economic relationship and the challenges and opportunities presented by the proposed United States–Mexico–Canada Agreement (USMCA). The gathering was presented by the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas and Mission Foods Texas–Mexico Center at SMU.
Updated Compilation and Editing, June 2021- Introduction
Pia M. Orrenius and Jesus Cañas, Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas
Opening Session
- Opening Remarks
Robert S. Kaplan, Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas
- Audience Questions and Answers
Robert S. Kaplan, Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas
Plenary Session
- A Conversation: The Path to the USMCA Trade Agreement
Ildefonso Guajardo Villarreal, Former Secretary of Economy of Mexico and Mexico’s USMCA representative
Panel 1: Rules of Origin: U.S. Content of Imports, Supply Chains and Trade Diversion
- Reassessing Value-Added Cross-Border Supply Chains
Alonso de Gortari, Dartmouth College - Mexico in the Context of Global Trade Tensions
Eddy Bekkers, World Trade Organization - Mexico’s Higher Costs Under USMCA May Potentially Offset Gains from China-Related Trade Spurt with U.S.
Daniel Chiquiar, Banco de México
Keynote Speech
-
A Pessimistic Optimist in ‘Interesting Times,’ the Era of Globalization
Timothy J. Kehoe, University of Minnesota
Panel 2: Services and Digital Trade
- Liberalizing Trade of Services Offers Potentially Large Economic Gains
Michael Sposi, Southern Methodist University - Digital Economy Finds a Home in USMCA Provisions
Anupam Chander, Georgetown University - Expansion of Digital Service Economy Offers North American Opportunities
Joshua Meltzer, Brookings Institution
Panel 3: Energy Sector: Investment, Regulation and Binational Strategy
- Lifting Mexican Red Tape Could Speed Energy Infrastructure Growth
Enrique Marroquin, Hunt Mexico - Pragmatism May Ultimately Guide Mexico’s USMCA Energy Policy
Pedro Niembro, Monarch Global Strategies - Meeting Mexico’s Demand for U.S. Natural Gas Depends on Adding Pipelines
Curt Anastasio, GasLog Partners LP
Panel 4: Economic Implications for the U.S. of a North America Without NAFTA or USMCA
- USMCA Keeps the Peace, Fails to Improve on NAFTA
Christine McDaniel, George Mason University - Tariffs Only a Fraction of Trade Barrier Costs in Global Supply-Chain Era
Kei-Mu Yi, Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas and University of Houston
Dinner
- Reviving Free Trade Offers Best Chance for ‘Happy’ Global Outcome
Anne Krueger, Johns Hopkins University
Plenary Session
- Keeping North America Globally Competitive Requires Its Economic Integration
Raymond Robertson, Texas A&M University
Panel 5: Migration, Workforce and the Integration of Labor Markets
- As Mexican Mass Migration to U.S. Ends, New Arrivals Come from Central America, Asia
Jeffrey S. Passel, Pew Research Center - U.S. Wage Growth Provides Greatest ‘Pull’ for Mexican Migration Decision
Madeline Zavodny, University of North Florida - Canada Presents More Accommodating Approach to Immigration than U.S.
John B. Sutcliffe, University of Windsor