Press Release

United States, Canada and Mexico Launch North American Competitiveness Council

U.S. Secretary of Commerce Carlos Gutierrez, Mexican Secretary of Economy Sergio Garcia de Alba and Canadian Minister of Industry Maxime Bernier meet with North American Business Leaders

WASHINGTON—U.S. Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez, Mexican Economy Minister Sergio Garcia de Alba and Canadian Minister of Industry Maxime Bernier today met with North American business leaders to officially launch the North American Competitiveness Council (NACC). In March, U.S. President Bush, Canadian Prime Minister Harper, and Mexican President Fox, announced the creation of the NACC as a priority to their commitment to the Security and Prosperity Partnership of North America (SPP).

"Today is a continuation of President Bush's strong commitment to our North American partners to focus on North America's security and prosperity," said Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez. "The private sector is the driving force behind innovation and growth, and the private sector's involvement in the SPP is key to enhancing North America 's competitive position in global markets."

The NACC is made up of high level business leaders from each country. Each country's council consists of ten members who will meet annually with the SPP Prosperity and Security Ministers to provide recommendations and priorities on promoting North American competitiveness globally. In addition, the governments of North America will work with the NACC to remove barriers in order to increase the competitiveness of North American firms in the global marketplace and spur economic growth.

Also today, the SPP Prosperity Ministers, Secretary Gutierrez, Secretary Garcia de Alba and Minister Bernier, met to take stock of progress on the Prosperity component of the SPP. The SPP Security Ministers, Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff, Canadian Minister of Public Safety Stockwell Day and Mexican Secretary of Interior Carlos Abascal, are also taking stock of progress on the Security component with a view to releasing a report in July. The Security and Prosperity Ministers will hold a meeting with the NACC in early fall 2006 to discuss their priorities. They will also discuss updates to the work plans and consider new initiatives.

On March 23, 2005, leaders of North America launched the SPP. This initiative is meant to reduce trade barriers and facilitate economic growth, while improving the security and competitiveness of the continent. The leaders of North America affirmed their commitment to the SPP when they met on March 31, 2006 in Cancun, Mexico.

The SPP is built on the North American Free Trade Agreement between the United States, Canada and Mexico (NAFTA) which entered into force on January 1, 1994. NAFTA created the world's largest free trade area, which now links 435 million people producing $13.8 trillion worth of goods and services. Total trade among all three NAFTA partners has grown from $296.7 billion in 1993 to $807.4 billion in 2005, an increase of 172 percent. The dismantling of trade barriers and the opening of markets has led to economic growth and rising prosperity in all three countries.

SPP Recent Accomplishments (Fact Sheet)