SEPTEMBER 19-22, 2019

The United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA)

​

Pamela Starr, PhD

Director, US-Mexico Network
Associate Professor, School of International Relations of the University of Southern California

​Key Points• Bilateral US-Mexico trade is critical to both countries. In terms of economy, they are one country.• 40% of the content of Mexico’s exports to the US include components that are “Made in the USA,” accounting for 5 million US jobs• Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador who, despite leftist rhetoric, is a fiscal conservative who wants a heathy long-term relationship with the US• With President Andrés Manuel López Obrador’s urging, Mexico has ratified the USMCA

Pamela Starr, PhD, is Director of the US-Mexico Network and an Associate Professor at the School of International Relations of the University of Southern California. She reminded the Forum that bilateral trade is critical to both the US and Mexico, and directly impacts the States’ economies. Mexico is the number one trading partner with the US, and totaled an estimated $671.0 billion in 2018. In fact, 40% of the content of Mexico’s exports to the US include components that are “Made in the USA,” accounting for 5 million US jobs, while US companies have invested more than $110 billion in Mexico.

A new trade agreement to replace NAFTA (North American Free Trade Agreement)—the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA)—has been ratified by Mexico and is under review in the US and Canada. It seeks to protect the bilateral trade and US investments, while requiring more stringent intellectual property protection, labor and wage protections, and tighter rules of origin in the auto sector.

Mexico’s President, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, while espousing leftist sentiments, is actually a pragmatist and a fiscal conservative, Dr. Starr reported. He recognizes the importance of a heathy long-term relationship with the US and shepherded the USMCA through Parliament, even in the face of US tariff threats and anti-Mexican rhetoric from the Trump Administration.

​

Vera Janushkowsky (Pfizer, Inc) and Sen. Mary Kay Papen (NM) found that the Forum provides opportunities for vital conversations.

Speaker Biography

​Pamela Starr  

Pamela K. Starr (Ph.D. University of Southern California, 1993) is the Director of the U.S.-Mexico Network and an Associate Professor (RTPC) of International Relations and Public Diplomacy at the University of Southern California. She is also a Senior Advisor at Monarch Global Strategies. She was previously a senior Latin America analyst at the Eurasia Group (a leading global political risk consulting firm) where she led the Mexico practice. Prior to joining the Eurasia Group, she was a professor of Latin American political economy at the Instituto Tecnológico Autónomo de México (ITAM) in Mexico City for eight years (1997-2005).

Dr. Starr has focused on Mexican politics, economics and foreign policy, US-Mexico relations, and the politics of economic policy making for over 30 years.  She has a deep understanding of Mexico – its politics, policymaking, institutional structure, macro-economy, and culture. This knowledge is reflected in numerous articles, book chapters, and policy reports on Mexico and its relations with the United States.

Dr. Starr has advised the US Secretary of State and the Mexican Foreign Minister, several US Ambassadors to Mexico and the Assistant Secretaries of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs, and many other government officials from both countries, and has testified before the US Congress. She is also an active speaker on these subjects at venues ranging from the IMF, World Economic Forum, Inter-American Development Bank, to the Mexico Business Summit, the Mexican Banking Association, and the American Chamber/Mexico.

SEPTEMBER 19-22, 2019

The United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA)

​

Pamela Starr, PhD

Director, US-Mexico Network
Associate Professor, School of International Relations of the University of Southern California

​Key Points• Bilateral US-Mexico trade is critical to both countries. In terms of economy, they are one country.• 40% of the content of Mexico’s exports to the US include components that are “Made in the USA,” accounting for 5 million US jobs• Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador who, despite leftist rhetoric, is a fiscal conservative who wants a heathy long-term relationship with the US• With President Andrés Manuel López Obrador’s urging, Mexico has ratified the USMCA

Pamela Starr, PhD, is Director of the US-Mexico Network and an Associate Professor at the School of International Relations of the University of Southern California. She reminded the Forum that bilateral trade is critical to both the US and Mexico, and directly impacts the States’ economies. Mexico is the number one trading partner with the US, and totaled an estimated $671.0 billion in 2018. In fact, 40% of the content of Mexico’s exports to the US include components that are “Made in the USA,” accounting for 5 million US jobs, while US companies have invested more than $110 billion in Mexico.

A new trade agreement to replace NAFTA (North American Free Trade Agreement)—the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA)—has been ratified by Mexico and is under review in the US and Canada. It seeks to protect the bilateral trade and US investments, while requiring more stringent intellectual property protection, labor and wage protections, and tighter rules of origin in the auto sector.

Mexico’s President, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, while espousing leftist sentiments, is actually a pragmatist and a fiscal conservative, Dr. Starr reported. He recognizes the importance of a heathy long-term relationship with the US and shepherded the USMCA through Parliament, even in the face of US tariff threats and anti-Mexican rhetoric from the Trump Administration.

​

Vera Janushkowsky (Pfizer, Inc) and Sen. Mary Kay Papen (NM) found that the Forum provides opportunities for vital conversations.

Speaker Biography

​Pamela K. Starr (Ph.D. University of Southern California, 1993) is the Director of the U.S.-Mexico Network and an Associate Professor (RTPC) of International Relations and Public Diplomacy at the University of Southern California. She is also a Senior Advisor at Monarch Global Strategies. She was previously a senior Latin America analyst at the Eurasia Group (a leading global political risk consulting firm) where she led the Mexico practice. Prior to joining the Eurasia Group, she was a professor of Latin American political economy at the Instituto Tecnológico Autónomo de México (ITAM) in Mexico City for eight years (1997-2005).

Dr. Starr has focused on Mexican politics, economics and foreign policy, US-Mexico relations, and the politics of economic policy making for over 30 years.  She has a deep understanding of Mexico – its politics, policymaking, institutional structure, macro-economy, and culture. This knowledge is reflected in numerous articles, book chapters, and policy reports on Mexico and its relations with the United States.

Dr. Starr has advised the US Secretary of State and the Mexican Foreign Minister, several US Ambassadors to Mexico and the Assistant Secretaries of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs, and many other government officials from both countries, and has testified before the US Congress. She is also an active speaker on these subjects at venues ranging from the IMF, World Economic Forum, Inter-American Development Bank, to the Mexico Business Summit, the Mexican Banking Association, and the American Chamber/Mexico.