International. The Latin American Security Association (ALAS), the Security Industry Association (SIA) and the Canadian Security Association (Canasa) have formed a coalition to call on the U.S. Congress to quickly approve the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), the renegotiation of NAFTA.
In a Sept. 9 letter to Congress, the trilateral coalition highlighted the growth and change in the security industry and updates to renegotiated policies to reflect the current state of the market. The legislatures of Mexico and Canada have already voted in overwhelming support to ratify the USMCA.
"Mexico was the first to ratify the USMCA," said Alberto Alvarez, CEO of ALAS. "This new agreement will strengthen trade relations and boost business between the three countries."
"The security industry in North America is experiencing substantial growth, a strong workforce and a strong international business climate and is poised to meet the high demand for security in our countries," said SIA CEO Don Erickson. "USMCA reflects the economy of the twenty-first century and updates several outdated trade policies that will benefit the industry and level the playing field globally."
According to the July 2019 SIA Safety Market Index, a bimonthly review of current market conditions provided to association members, nearly 50 percent of security professionals rated current business conditions as "excellent," and 69 percent of respondents stated that they are increasing their number of employees or hours worked.
"The Canadian government has officially endorsed the USMCA as a positive trade agreement between our three countries for some time," said Patrick Straw, executive director of Canasa. "We are very hopeful that this will be ratified in the near future."
