WASHINGTON – Building on President Trump’s signing of the historic United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and U.S. Department of State announced today that the governments of the United States, United Mexican States, and Canada concluded negotiations on a new Agreement on Environmental Cooperation (ECA). The ECA will support implementation of the environmental commitments in the USMCA and will modernize and enhance the effectiveness of environmental cooperation between the parties.

“The signing of the USMCA not only fulfills President Trump’s commitment to replace NAFTA with a modern, rebalanced trade deal that protects American workers, but it is also the first-ever trade agreement among the three nations to include environmental commitments in the body of the agreement,” said EPA Acting Administrator Andrew Wheeler. “In addition, the new Environmental Cooperation Agreement expands on key elements of the USMCA and will enhance our collective efforts to improve air quality, reduce marine litter, and address other pressing environmental challenges.”

The new environmental cooperation agreement – which will take effect upon entry into force of the USMCA – will strengthen and expand trilateral collaborative efforts to protect and conserve the environment and address emerging environmental challenges. Areas of cooperation include efforts to reduce pollution, strengthen environmental governance, conserve biological diversity, and sustainably manage natural resources.  

The ECA will update and supersede the North American Agreement on Environmental Cooperation. EPA, in coordination with its federal partners, will continue to play a leadership role under the ECA, with the Administrator serving as the U.S. representative to the trilateral environment Council.

The text of the ECA is available here: https://www.epa.gov/international-cooperation/commission-environmental-cooperation-cec

This press release was originally posted here: https://www.epa.gov/newsreleases/united-states-mexico-and-canada-conclude-negotiations-trilateral-agreement