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WORK PLAN SPECIFICS

Under the HLED work stream, adopted in September 2013, the United States and Mexico intend to advance priorities in the following areas:

Pillar I: Promoting Competitiveness and Connectivity

• Transportation – Understanding that a globally competitive economy needs infrastructure that facilitates the flow of goods, services, and movement of people in a low-cost, efficient manner, our governments plan to improve our transportation systems by:

• Organizing exchange workshops on Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS), developing an agenda of ongoing cooperation on ITS standards, and exploring expanding short sea shipping/marine highway networks between our countries.
• Since the majority of our goods traded cross the border via freight trucks, we intend to strengthen logistics networks and efficient trucking services, jointly identify and develop strategic multimodal logistics corridors, establish a binational freight committee, and host senior freight planning exchanges within the Joint Working Committee. 
• Modernizing our bilateral air transport relationship.
• Supporting a Single Rail Manifest that will facilitate bilateral trade and increase customs and trade compliance; continuing implementation of the Joint Cargo Prescreening programs at selected facilities; and exploring adapting or expanding hours of service at ports of entry. We will further expand trusted trader programs, with the aim of mutual recognition between Mexico and the United States.
• Completing six border master plans that will integrate national corridors to city networks.

• Telecommunications – Promoting an integrated and efficient telecommunications market on both sides of our common border will lead to significant economic gains for Mexico and the United States. Our governments intend to:

• Connect information and communications technology (ICT) sector stakeholders from the United States with Mexican officials to highlight new investment opportunities in this sector via a roadshow, and introduce potential partners to explore private-public partnerships.
• Organize a regulatory workshop series and broadband innovation information exchanges to facilitate deployment of affordable broadband technology.
• Resolve critical spectrum management issues to facilitate rapid deployment of services on both sides of the border.

Pillar II: Fostering Economic Growth, Productivity, Entrepreneurship, and Innovation

• Human Capital/Workforce Development – Mexico and the United States will work together to promote formal job creation in both countries and develop a North American workforce. Our governments intend to:

• Create cooperation programs to support more inclusive economic growth and sustainable development with good labor practices.
• Use the Bilateral Forum on Higher Education, Innovation and Research (FOBESII), as the platform to increase cross-border academic exchange and joint research and innovation, while promoting study in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields.

• Joint Investment Promotion - By effectively serving international investors and conducting coordinated promotion efforts, the United States and Mexico can benefit through increased local jobs, better-developed and integrated supply chains, and enhanced global competitiveness.

• Promoting Travel and Tourism – Tourism is a key component of both of our economies, and our governments intend to:

• Establish a Travel and Tourism Working Group, which will promote travel and tourism between our countries, attract visitors from outside the region, and explore promoting and expanding enrollment in existing travel facilitation programs (such as Global Entry (http://www.globalentry.gov/), NEXUS (http://www.cbp.gov/xp/cgov/travel/trusted_traveler/nexus-prog/), and the Secure Electronic Network for Travelers Rapid Inspection (SENTRI, http://www.cbp.gov/xp/cgov/travel/trusted-traveler/sentri/) as well as the Viajero Confiable Program (http://www.viajeroconfiable.inm.gob.mx/index.php/home/). The group will also focus on cross-border tourism and promote participation of women’s associations in the industry.

• Integrating Our Economies – Mexico and the United States are key trading partners, and the HLED focuses on fostering North American competitiveness by:

• Launching a Mexico-U.S. cluster mapping pilot that will provide key information on industries by location and type to be used for regional economic development strategies.
• Strengthening advanced manufacturing capabilities via a pilot project to identify supply chain challenges and opportunities, and reinforcing networks of community stakeholders to develop linkages within the manufacturing ecosystem.
• Focusing on increasing women’s participation in the economy, through an Action Plan to comply with our bilateral Memorandum of Understanding for the Promotion of Gender Equality, the Economic Empowerment of Women, and Women’s Human Rights, MUSEIC’s Subcommittee on Women Led Entrepreneurship and via Mexico’s participation in the Equal Futures Partnership (http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2012/09/24/fact-sheet-equal-futures-partnership-expand-women-s-political-and-econom) and promoting women’s entrepreneurship.
• Facilitating trade of safe food and agricultural products by identifying additional ways to facilitate cross-border movement of goods.
• Developing effective approaches to deepening regulatory cooperation, to remove unnecessary regulatory barriers to trade, reduce costs to business, and improve the quality and safety of our products. The HLED, High Level Regulatory Cooperation Council (HLRCC) and North American Leaders Summit all serve as policy fora for advancing these goals and improving the coherence of their overlapping authorities and deliverables is key to implementing these goals.
• Developing Border Regional Economic Development Strategies (BREDS) to ensure the benefits of economic growth are more broadly distributed across U.S. and Mexican states and regions.  BREDS will promote economic development, protect the environment, and promote the use of technology.

• Developing the Border Region – Fostering competitiveness on the Mexico-U.S. border is a key goal of the HLED. Our governments have agreed to not only focus on infrastructure and facilitating legitimate trade and travel, but also take into account socioeconomic, financial, and environmental components to adequately develop the region. Our governments intend to:

• Coordinate and expedite execution of port of entry projects and identifying binational mechanisms to match the planning and construction time spans for projects, where appropriate.
• Make effective use of the North American Development Bank (NADB) by promoting projects in renewable energy, electricity connection, and water treatment in border areas, as well as evaluate the Bank’s long-term capital needs.
• Conduct a Border Mayoral Economic Development Summit to identify best practices, assets, and information as a key component of facilitating the creation of a U.S.-Mexico Border Regions Economic Development Strategy.

• Entrepreneurship - The United States and Mexico recognize that entrepreneurship and innovation drive successful economies, and plan to support an entrepreneurial, innovative ecosystem in both countries by

• Welcoming the Mexico-U.S. Entrepreneurship and Innovation Council’s (MUSEIC) launch and asking the Council to provide guidance on strategic innovation and growth objectives to consider in MUSEIC’s future work plans. With the help of MUSEIC, will also begin a dialogue to enhance engagement of the Mexican diaspora to promote and expand investment opportunities for entrepreneurs.
• Organizing reciprocal entrepreneurship and innovation exchanges to facilitate trade relationships among business incubators, entrepreneurs, technology accelerators, and economic development leaders.

Pillar III: Partnering for Regional and Global Leadership

• Partnering to promote development in Central America – The United States and Mexico underscore our desire to advance economic development in the Western Hemisphere.  Our governments intend to:

• Establish a working group to identify priority areas to support Central American customs agencies
• Cooperate to deepen regional electrical integration.
• Work together to advance opportunities for SMEs, education and health of the workforce, and ensure equitable inclusion of women.

• Regional trade priorities – We will continue to cooperate on trade liberalization and trade priorities at the regional and multilateral level.
  
  
• Transparency and anti-corruption - We will continue to work together to advance the transparency and anti-corruption objectives of the Open Government Partnership, as well as the empowerment of citizens to strengthen democratic societies.

 

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