USTR Releases NAFTA Renegotiation Objectives – Echoing Toy Association Priorities

July 25, 2017 | The Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) recently released objectives for the renegotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).

At the direction of the Trump Administration, USTR sought comments from the public to frame the development of the negotiating objectives. The Toy Association was among those that submitted comments based on member input. U.S. government representatives are expected to begin the first round of negotiations with Canadian and Mexican government officials on August 16.

“Mexico and Canada, with toy market sizes at $1.4 billion and $1.6 billion respectively, both represent important markets for U.S. toy companies,” says Rebecca Mond, The Toy Association’s senior director of federal government affairs. “The Toy Association is supportive of any NAFTA modernization efforts that increase opportunities for U.S. toy companies to sell toys in these countries.”

The USTR document echoed many priorities included in The Toy Association’s letter. The Toy Association’s comments requested any updates to NAFTA include the following: encourage greater regulatory coherence between the three markets; improve upon outdated NAFTA intellectual property (IP) language by adding robust protections for U.S. patent, trademark, and copyright holders as well as strong enforcement of those measures; keep toys duty free under NAFTA to allow toys to continue to be affordable for all families at all income levels; maintain Country of Origin requirements; and maintain yet improve on existing trade facilitation measures.

The Toy Association plans to stay vigilant on ensuring that the toy industry’s voice is incorporated into the trade agreement’s modernization by working closely with members and the U.S. government throughout the negotiations. Any questions can be directed to Rebecca Mond.