Backgrounder - North American Competitiveness Workplan for 2016
Backgrounder
What is the North American Competitiveness Workplan?
Canada, the United States and Mexico have developed a workplan to promote prosperity across North America and to strengthen the continent’s position as one of the most economically competitive regions in the world.
How did the North American Competitiveness Workplan get started?
The Canadian, U.S. and Mexican ministers and secretaries of international trade and commerce agreed in October 2013 to develop a road map to promote prosperity across North America and strengthen North America’s position as the most competitive region in the world. At the North American Leaders’ Summit in Toluca, Mexico, in February 2014, leaders endorsed the development of a workplan to advance North American global competitiveness. The 2016 North American Competitiveness Workplan (NACW) is the latest iteration of this initiative.
What is the scope of the 2016 North American Competitiveness Workplan?
The 2016 NACW scope of work includes 14 proposed initiatives to strengthen collaboration between the three governments and reduce costs to trade and investment within the continent. The joint initiatives fall under three themes:
- supply chain efficiency;
- innovation and economic development; and
- stakeholder consultation and outreach.
The 2016 North American Competitiveness Workplan introduces new initiatives to promote the following.
- Women’s entrepreneurship: Canada, the United States and Mexico, through the Mexico-United States Entrepreneurship and Innovation Council, will strengthen their collaboration on activities to promote woman-owned small and medium-sized enterprises.
- Clean-energy partnerships: Through the North American Clean Energy Partnership Initiative, Canada, the United States and Mexico will work together to make North America the dominant player in the use and export of clean energy and environmental technology. This will entail supporting the development of business linkages among North American clean-energy technology companies, with a focus on small and medium-sized enterprises.
- Standards alignment: The three countries will identify sectors that will benefit from the alignment of voluntary standards activities.
- Efficiency in patent filing: The Canadian Intellectual Property Office, the Instituto Mexicano de la Propiedad Industrial [Mexican institute of industrial property] and the United States Patent and Trademark Office propose extending for two years the regional Patent Prosecution Highway pilot program. The program allows an inventor filing patent applications for the same invention in the three countries to obtain results faster and at a lower cost.
- Cybersecurity protection: The three countries will focus on enhanced engagement with the commercial sector to promote cybersecurity best practices across North America.
- Connections among local governments: Canada, the United States and Mexico will help create cross-border connections among local governments in the three countries and establish collaborative relationships to spur economic development and enhance North America’s global competitiveness.
What is the next step for the North American Competitiveness Workplan?
The NACW is a series of initiatives that will be implemented by the three countries over the course of the next year.
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