Hispanic worker attitudes toward pig euthanasia on U.S. farms.

Introduction: On-farm pig euthanasia considers aspects of animal welfare and industry economics. Guidelines are available about the euthanasia process, but the agricultural workforce is highly diverse and guidelines do not consider cultural barriers. Euthanasia requires the ability to identify compromised pigs, technical skills, and willingness to euthanize pigs. In addition, timely euthanasia is part of the Common Swine Industry Audit (CSIA) and, thus, can lead to failed audits if not performed as required by the audit standards. The United States (US) swine industry employs a high percentage of Latin American workers, some US residents/citizens, and others through non-immigrant North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) visas. These workers vary in their level of education and swine industry experience. Proper training of this workforce and identification of the barriers associated with performing timely euthanasia are critical to promote improved welfare practices. The objectives of this study were to: (1) develop a survey instrument to identify Hispanic caretaker attitudes toward pig euthanasia, (2) assess and describe swine caretakers' attitudes toward pig euthanasia using the developed survey instrument, and (3) determine the demographic and psychological barriers associated with performing pig euthanasia. Methods: Participants (n = 163) were surveyed from 16 farms across the State of Iowa. The on-farm survey was administered for two days in a period of 60 min per day. Results: The results for demographics and the swine management survey data indicated that employees with less time working on the farm showed less knowledge of the CSIA, lower perceived ability to identify compromised pigs that needed to be euthanized, lower willingness to pecrform euthanasia on their own, and preferred not to have the responsibility of telling others when to euthanize pigs (p < 0.001). Secondary traumatic stress and transgressions were significantly correlated scales, associated with burnout, betrayals, and worker satisfaction (p = 0.022). Furthermore, individuals identifying as female had higher secondary traumatic stress scores (p = 0.026) and lower compassion satisfaction scores (p = 0.015). Discussion: This data suggest that there are demographic, psychometric, and training-related factors correlated with Hispanic caretakers' feelings about pig euthanasia. The results of this study could be used to further improve and develop targeted training programs for Hispanic caretakers for early identification of compromised pigs and timely euthanasia, which could benefit human well-being, animal welfare, and the swine industry audit performance.

Exploring the energy-economy-environment paradox through Yin-Yang harmony cognition.

Adopting a symbiotic perspective, this study aimed to examine the paradoxical interrelationship of the energy-economy-environment nexus through the novel lens of Yin-Yang cognitive harmony. With a broad sample of countries (6 African lions, 5 Asian tigers, 3 NAFTA countries, and 10 top European Union economies), we applied the cointegration and fully modified ordinary least squares techniques to evaluate the short- and long-term relationships between energy consumption, economic growth and carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions for the period 1980-2012. The results were heterogeneous across countries, but a curvilinear (inverted U-shaped) relationship between total economic growth and CO2 emissions in conformity with the environmental Kuznets curve was confirmed in many cases. However, there was no evidence that economic growth resulting from energy consumption has been responsible for CO2 reduction, which suggests a 'trilemma' - that is, a challenge in balancing energy production, economic growth and environmental degradation. From a behavioural economic perspective, this paper draws on the Kuznets hypothesis and Jevon's paradox by adopting a paradoxical frame to characterise the complex energy-growth-environment interaction as a balanced, symbiotic coexistence. It thus provides novel insights into the energy-growth-environment trilemma through an unconventional perspective based on Yin-Yang cognitive harmony (Fig. 1, see the Appendix).

Renewable energy, technological innovation, carbon emission, and life expectancy nexus: experience from the NAFTA economies.

One essential component that reflects the development of society and the economy of most countries is life expectancy (LEXP). Nevertheless, LEXP can be influenced by varying factors, including socioeconomic and medical factors. Therefore, this analysis's focal point and motivation is to explore how socioeconomic factors such as economic growth, technological innovation, carbon emission, human capital, and renewable energy affect LEXP. The study utilized panel data from 1990 to 2020 from the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), which consists of the USA, Mexico, and Canada. The initial test confirmed that the research series were stationary and cointegrated. Therefore, the research applied the cross-sectional autoregressive distributed lag (CS-ARDL) model to predict the paper's short- and long-term estimates. The empirical estimated model concluded that human capital, renewable energy, technological innovation, and economic growth boost life expectancy. Contrarily, the outcome espoused that carbon emission has an inverse association with LEXP. The causality test confirmed a unidirectional interaction between human capital, economic growth, technological innovation, and life expectancy. On the other hand, there is a bidirectional connection between carbon emission, renewable energy, and life expectancy. The research suggests that stakeholders and policy-makers strengthen and enforce air quality standards to reduce pollution from industrial emissions and vehicle exhaust and encourage using cleaner technologies to promote LEXP. The research outcome is empirically and theoretically consistent, providing an essential breakthrough for environment-health-energy and economic development policies.

Estimating the unintended impact of the North American free trade agreement on U.S. public health.

The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) was introduced in 1994 between Canada, Mexico, and the United States to encourage trilateral trade. In 2008, an unrestricted reciprocal sugar trade agreement, was implemented between Mexico and the United States as part of NAFTA, which led to a significant decrease in the United States' sugar price. However, critics argue that free trade agreements that reduce trade barriers on products such as sugar threaten public health. This study uses the synthetic control method to investigate the causal impact of the unrestricted sugar trade agreement on sugar consumption and diabetes prevalence in the United States. First, we show that sugar consumption in the United States increased by an average of 16% annually after the agreement was signed, corresponding to 5240g per capita. Second, we show that the crude prevalence of diabetes increased by an average of 1% annually in the United States after the agreement was signed, with an increase of 1% and 2% for men and women, respectively. This unintended consequence of NAFTA has had an estimated economic cost of $324.37 million annually.

How NaFTA salt affects the structural landscape and transport properties of Pyrr1,3FTA ionic liquid.

Recently, it has been demonstrated that ionic liquids (ILs) with an asymmetric anion render a wider operational temperature range and can be used as a solvent in sodium ion batteries. In the present study, we examine the microscopic structure and dynamics of pure 1-methyl-1-propylpyrrolidinium fluorosulfonyl(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)amide (Pyrr1,3FTA) IL using atomistic molecular dynamics simulations. How the addition of the sodium salt (NaFTA) having the same anion changes the structural landscape and transport properties of the pure IL has also been explored. The simulated x-ray scattering structure functions reveal that the gradual addition of NaFTA salt (up to 1.2 molal) suppresses the charge alternating feature of the pure IL because of the replacement of the Pyrr+ cations with the Na+ ions. The Na+ ions are majorly found near the oxygen atoms of the anions, but the probability of finding the Na+ ions near these atoms slightly decreases with increasing salt concentration. As expected, the Na+ ions stay away from the Pyrr+ cations. However, the probability of finding the anions around anions increases with increasing salt concentration. The simulated self-diffusion coefficients of the ions in the pure IL reveal slightly faster diffusion of the Pyrr+ cations as compared to the FTA- anions. Interestingly, in the salt solution, despite having smaller size, the diffusion of the Na+ ions is found to be lesser than the Pyrr+ cations and the FTA- anions. The analysis of the ionic conductivity and transport numbers reveals that the fractional contribution of the FTA- anion to the overall conductivity remains nearly constant with increasing salt concentration, but the contribution of Pyrr+ cation decreases and Na+ ion increases.

Trade and Embodied CO2 Emissions: Analysis from a Global Input-Output Perspective.

Global trade drives the world's economic development, while a large amount of embodied carbon is transferred among different countries and regions. Based on a multi-regional input-output model, the trade embodied carbon transfers of bilateral trade between 185 countries/regions around the world were calculated. On the basis, regional trade embodied carbon transfer patterns and major national trade patterns in six continents, eight major economic cooperation organizations, and six representative countries/regions were further analyzed. The results showed that Europe was the continent with the largest embodied carbon inflows from trade and Africa was the continent with the largest embodied carbon outflows from trade. China was the country which had the largest embodied carbon outflows from trade, while the United States, France, Japan, and Germany were countries which had embodied carbon inflows from trade. OECD, EU, and NAFTA were the economic cooperation organizations with embodied carbon inflows from trade, while BRICS, SCO, RCEP, OPEC, and ASEAN were economic cooperation organizations with embodied carbon outflows from trade. Developed countries such as the United States, France, and the United Kingdom protected their environment by exporting high-value products and importing low-value and carbon-intensive products. Developing countries such as China and Russia earned foreign exchange by exporting carbon-intensive and commodity products at a huge environmental cost. In contrast, Germany, China, and Russia played different roles in the global industrial chain, while Germany exchanged more trade surpluses at lower environmental costs. Therefore, for different countries and regions, their own industries should be actively upgraded to adjust the import and export structure, the cooperation and coordination in all regions of the world should be strengthened, and the transfers of embodied carbon needs to be reduced to make the trade model sustainable.

Spatial patterns and determinants of avocado frontier dynamics in Mexico.

The surging demand for commodity crops has led to rapid and severe agricultural frontier expansion globally and has put producing regions increasingly under pressure. However, knowledge about spatial patterns of agricultural frontier dynamics, their leading spatial determinants, and socio-ecological trade-offs is often lacking, hindering contextualized decision making towards more sustainable food systems. Here, we used inventory data to map frontier dynamics of avocado production, a cash crop of increasing importance in global diets, for Michoacán, Mexico, before and after the implementation of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). We compiled a set of environmental, accessibility and social variables and identified the leading determinants of avocado frontier expansion and their interactions using extreme gradient boosting. We predicted potential expansion patterns and assessed their impacts on areas important for biodiversity conservation. Avocado frontiers expanded more than tenfold from 12,909 ha (1974) to 152,493 ha (2011), particularly after NAFTA. Annual precipitation, distance to settlements, and land tenure were key factors explaining avocado expansion. Under favorable climatic and accessibility conditions, most avocado expansion occurred on private lands. Contrary, under suboptimal conditions, most avocado expansion occurred on communal lands. Large areas suitable for further avocado expansion overlapped with priority sites for restoration, highlighting an imminent conflict between conservation and economic revenues. This is the first analysis of avocado frontier dynamics and their spatial determinants across a major production region and our results provide entry points to implement government-based strategies to support small-scale farmers, mostly those on communal lands, while trying to minimize the socio-environmental impacts of avocado production. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s10113-022-01883-6.

Retesting the EKC hypothesis through transmission of the ARMEY curve model: an alternative composite model approach with theory and policy implications for NAFTA countries.

We investigate the validity of the environmental Kuznets curve (EKC) hypothesis for the NAFTA countries. In this investigation, we approach this hypothesis from a different methodology and propose employing the ARMEY curve hypothesis since the mathematical-functional propositions of both hypotheses were constructed on the same inverted U-shaped relationships. Thus, for the first time, it can be interpreted that the EKC hypothesis is empirically tested through a transmission mechanism of the ARMEY curve hypothesis in a single composite model. Therefore, this approach makes our study different from all empirical studies in the relevant literature. We apply the Augmented Mean Group (AMG) estimator to this aim. Empirical findings indicate that the ARMEY curve hypothesis was verified only for the USA. However, this new approach proposed in this study cannot test the EKC hypothesis through the ARMEY curve model for any NAFTA country since this approach requires verification of the ARMEY curve hypothesis and a significant composite model for the same NAFTA country. If our composite model was significant, it might make it possible to numerically determine a maximum real GDP per capita level that would minimize or maximize CO2 emission levels for the USA. Therefore, this study introduces-proposes this new methodology as an alternative way of testing the EKC hypothesis in the relevant literature for future empirical studies.

Gender and Regionalization in North America: From NAFTA to CUSMA and Beyond?

The literature on world regions is largely gender-blind. This article suggests ways in which the study of regionalism can incorporate gender analysis, based on the case of North America. It argues that this can be done in three ways: through an examination of the gendered impact of regional integration; through an examination of how gender concerns are, or can be, mainstreamed into regional policies; and through research on new forms of feminist-inspired activism that may shape regional outcomes. After applying these perspectives to the case of North America and the new Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement, it argues that despite the failure of the Canadian government to achieve the inclusion of a gender chapter, the inclusion of language around gender discrimination in the labour chapter makes the new agreement a more effective (if still limited) tool for promotion of some forms of gender equality.

Changes in apparent consumption of staple food in Mexico associated with the gradual implementation of the NAFTA.

In 1994, the United States, Canada, and Mexico signed the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) to remove trade barriers and facilitate cross-border trade in goods and services. Worldwide, trade agreements, urbanization and economic development have shaped significant changes in dietary habits. This study aims to evaluate the association between the gradual implementation of NAFTA and changes in apparent consumption of staple foods in Mexico. We analyzed national apparent consumption of animal- and vegetable-source foods, using data from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) from 1970 to 2018. Association between NAFTA and apparent consumption was estimated using interrupted time series analysis (ITSA) with synthetic controls and included two inflection points based on the implementation of NAFTA: 1994, when the agreement began, and 2008 when it was fully implemented. As a result, comparing Mexico with the synthetic control, we found a significant decrease in apparent consumption of pulses, -3.22 and -1.92 kcal/capita/day in the post-1994 and post-2008 periods, respectively. The vegetable-source foods showed an increase of 5.79 kcal/capita/day after 2008. The trends of apparent consumption of animal-source foods, eggs, and milk had significant increases after 1994 and 2008. The apparent consumption of meat increased only after 2008. The implementation of NAFTA was associated with an increase in apparent consumption of food from animal-source and a decrease in consumption of pulses. After 2008, an increase in apparent consumption of vegetable-source foods was observed.

Hollow Threats: Transnational Food and Beverage Companies' Use of International Agreements to Fight Front-of-Pack Nutrition Labeling in Mexico and Beyond.

In October 2019, the Mexican government reformed its General Health Law thus establishing the warning approach to front-of-pack nutrition labeling (FOPNL), and in March 2020, modified its national standard, revamping its ineffective FOPNL, one preemptively developed by industry actors. Implementation is scheduled for later in 2020. However, the new regulation faces fierce opposition from transnational food and beverage companies (TFBCs), including Nestlé, Kellogg, Grupo Bimbo, Coca-Cola, PepsiCo through their trade associations, the National Manufacturers, American Bakers Associations, the Confederation of Industrial Chambers of Mexico and ConMéxico. Mexico, as a regional leader, could tip momentum in favor of FOPNL diffusion across Latin America. But the fate of the Mexican FOPNL and the region currently lies in this government's response to three threats of legal challenges by TFBCs, citing international laws and guidelines including the World Trade Organization (WTO), Codex Alimentarius, and the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA)/US-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA). In this perspective, we argue that these threats should not prevent Mexico or other countries from implementing evidence-informed policies, such as FOPNLs, that pursue legitimate public health objectives.

La colaboración del sector privado en la renegociación del Tratado de Libre Comercio de América del Norte. Análisis de la industria automotriz mexicana / The collaboration of the private sector in the North American Free Trade Agreement renegotiation. Analysis of the Mexican automotive industry

Resumen La renegociación del Tratado de Libre Comercio de América del Norte entre México, Estados Unidos y Canadá inició en 2017 como medida proteccionista de Estados Unidos. La importancia del acuerdo comercial implicó la participación activa del sector privado mexicano a través del mecanismo "Cuarto de Junto", que funciona como órgano de consulta en negociaciones de acuerdos comerciales. La industria automotriz fue un tema sensible, por el grado de integración de las cadenas de suministro y su impacto para la región de Norteamérica. El objetivo de este trabajo fue analizar la colaboración del sector privado, de la industria automotriz, en los procesos de consulta pública del gobierno mexicano para la definición de su política de apertura comercial, durante la renegociación del Tratado de Libre Comercio de América del Norte. Esta investigación es cualitativa, con alcance descriptivo-exploratorio. Se realizaron 9 entrevistas semiestructuradas a representantes clave del gobierno mexicano, expertos en la disciplina o miembros activos del "Cuarto de Junto". El mecanismo de consulta, a través del "Cuarto de Junto", único en su género, permitió al gobierno mexicano alinear, en gran medida, los intereses del sector privado con los intereses de la política comercial de México. Los acuerdos alcanzados sobre reglas de origen y el incremento en el valor de contenido regional de autopartes si bien exigen mayor participación de la macro región de Norteamérica, otorgan nuevas oportunidades para desarrollar la industria nacional mexicana. La experiencia del sector privado mexicano, las habilidades de negociación e interacción a través del "Cuarto de Junto" y, sobre todo, el intenso cabildeo en Estados Unidos con la cúpula empresarial, legisladores y funcionarios públicos, antes y durante la renegociación, favorecieron al gobierno mexicano para cerrar satisfactoriamente las negociaciones. La transparencia del proceso de consulta pública-privada permitió consolidar alianzas dentro y fuera del país, aunque con retos complejos.

Abstract The renegotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement between Mexico, the United States and Canada began as a protectionist measure of United States in 2017. The importance of this agreement involved the active participation of the Mexican private sector through the "Side Room" a mechanism that functions as a consulting body for negotiation of international agreements. The automotive industry was a sensitive issue due to the integration level of the supply chains and their impact for the North American region. The objective of this research was to analyze the collaboration of the private sector automotive industry in the public consultation processes of the Mexican government for the definition of Mexico's trade policy during the North American Free Trade Agreement renegotiation period. This is a qualitative research with a descriptive-exploratory scope. Nine semi-structured interviews were carried out with representatives of the Mexican government, experts, or active members of the "Side Room". The "Side Room" consulting mechanism allowed the Mexican Government to align most of the private sector interests to the country's trade policy. Although the agreements reached regarding the rules of origin, and the increment on the regional value content of auto parts may require greater participation from the North American macro region, they allow new opportunities for the development of the domestic industry in Mexico. The experience of the Mexican private sector, the negotiation skills and interaction through the "Side Room" and above all, the intense lobbying in the with the private sector, legislators, and governors before and during renegotiation, had a positive impact for the Mexican government in order to satisfactorily conclude the negotiations. The transparency of the public-private consulting process consolidated alliances inside and outside Mexico, albeit with complex challenges.

Predictors of carbon emissions: an empirical evidence from NAFTA countries.

This study examined the predictors of carbon emissions in member countries of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). Panel models robust to cross-sectional dependence and slope heterogeneity were used for the study. From the heterogeneity and cross-sectional dependence tests, the studied panel was heterogeneous and cross-sectionally dependent. Also, the unit root and cointegration tests established the series to be first differenced stationary and cointegrated in the long run. Additionally, results of the CCEMG regression estimator in the whole panel affirmed economic growth (GDP) to be a significantly positive predictor of CO2 emissions, while foreign direct investments (FDI) and population growth (POP) were trivial determinants of CO2 emissions. The discoveries were however diverse in the individual countries. Finally, there was no causality between GDP and CO2 emissions and between POP and CO2 emissions. However, there was a one-way causality from CO2 emissions to FDI. Policy recommendations are further discussed.

What Factors Drive the Changes in Water Withdrawals in the U.S. Agriculture and Food Manufacturing Industries between 1995 and 2010?

Climate change and increasing world population will directly impact the global food supply chain linkages. In the United States, agricultural production requires less irrigated water than before but it still accounts for a third of total water withdrawals. To better understand the evolution of its water use, we perform a structural decomposition analysis of water withdrawals across eight different crops and six livestock categories and differentiate the trends over 1995-2005 vs 2005-2010 to account for the role of the economic crisis in the second period. Based on USGS data, the results show that both periods experienced an overall decline in water withdrawals in the production of all crops except oilseeds. This trend is driven by a decrease in water intensity, reflecting greater efficiency of irrigation systems, and by reduced local per capita income in the second period. However, increased foreign demand for water-intensive sectors like oilseeds from NAFTA and Asian partners mitigated the decline. Results indicate also a decreasing water use in livestock production partially due to a shift from red to white meat consumption in the country. Arguably, recent tariff wars and border closures have greatly reduced the virtual water embodied in American exports.

Impacto sobre la biota microbiana del suelo por contaminantes provenientes de estaciones de servicio / Impact on soil microbial biota by pollutants from filling station

Resumen La introducción de cualquier compuesto químico o el cambio de condiciones ambientales impacta en la comunidad bacteriana presente en un suelo. Este trabajo tuvo como objetivo observar los cambios en la comunidad bacteriana de un suelo al que se contaminó con hidrocarburos (gasoil, aceite y mezclas 1:1 gasoil-aceite y 1:1:1 nafta-gasoil-aceite). Se realizaron microcosmos cuya evolución fue estudiada por mineralización, recuento bacteriano, determinación de hidrocarburos totales del petróleo (TPH) y análisis de los principales componentes de la extracción de ácidos de las membranas bacterianas. Se presentaron disturbios en la composición de ácidos grasos de la comunidad bacteriana en todos los tratamientos. El agregado de nutrientes en el sistema de control produce un aumento del recuento bacteriano y el sistema que produjo mejor degradación fue el contenía solo gasoil, la presencia de los hidrocarburos produjo, en el diagrama de PCA, un agrupamiento de las muestras con aceite y de las mezclas.

Abstract Any chemical compound introduction in the soil, impact in bacterial community. This work aimed to observe the changes in the bacterial community of a soil that was contaminated with hydrocarbons (gasoline, diesel, oil and mixtures 1: 1 diesel-oil and 1: 1: 1 gasoline-diesel-oil). Microcosms were considered that were followed by mineralization, bacterial count, determination of TPH and acid extraction to monitor the bacterial community. There were disturbances in the composition of fatty acids of the bacterial community in all treatments. The addition of nutrients in the control system produces an increase in bacterial count and the system that best degraded was the system with diesel alone, the presence of hydrocarbons produced a grouping of samples with oil and mixtures in the PCA diagram.

USMCA 2.0: a few improvements but far from a 'healthy' trade treaty.

The USMCA (NAFTA 2.0), although signed over a year ago, went through several months of renegotiation of certain of its new rules that the Democrat-controlled US Congress wanted altered or strengthened. In December a 'Protocol of Amendment' was agreed upon and signed by the three Parties (the USA, Mexico, and Canada). A number of tough, new measures governing pharmaceuticals were revised or deleted, making it potentially easier for generic competition and lower drug costs in all three countries. Rules on protection of labour rights were also strengthened, lowering the threshold at which a complaint of unfair labour practices could be initiated. Procedures for investigating such a complaint or resolving a formal dispute were also improved. Similar procedural improvements were made on measures affecting environmental protection. These Protocol agreements are more health-positive than health-negative, and in the case of pharmaceuticals are of significant impact. Overall, however, these amendments are simply a political fine-tuning of the agreement. Concerns raised in our earlier health impact assessment of the USMCA, notably how the agreement's regulatory reforms reduce public health policy flexibilities, remain. The agreement continues to subordinate known or potential health costs of many of its measures to dubious claims of aggregate economic gains. Moreover, these gains, if materialized, are likely to accrue to those atop the income/wealth hierarchies in all three nations.

A Critical Discourse Analysis of Intellectual Property Rights Within NAFTA 1.0: Implications for NAFTA 2.0 and for Democratic (Health) Governance in Canada.

In 1993, the Canadian federal government ratified the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). Prior to ratification, compulsory licensing was eliminated from Canada's Patent Act and intellectual property rights (IPRs) were strengthened. Compulsory licensing allows competitors to produce drugs under patent without the consent of the patent holder, challenging drug monopolies and lowering prices, whereas IPRs lengthen patent protections, shielding patent holders from competition and increasing prices. We perform a critical discourse analysis of key provisions in Chapter 17 of NAFTA in light of industry claims that pharmaceutical innovation requires important investments in research and development, justifying high drug prices. We note that since NAFTA, spending in research and development in Canada has decreased and drug prices have increased, becoming a major barrier to equitable access to critically necessary medications. We argue that by modifying the law, the federal government has wronged the Canadian people by discursively appropriating the language of protecting the public good while in practice legitimizing and consolidating private drug development and production, legalizing exorbitant profits, and excluding well-tested publicly financed alternatives. While NAFTA has now been superseded by the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement, our analysis offers important lessons moving forward.

Why "American Patients First" is likely to raise drug prices outside of the United States.

Background: The Trump administration's 'American Patients First' blueprint proposes to reduce drug prices in the USA by increasing drug prices abroad, ex USA. The possibility of the Trump administration to raise drug prices ex USA through legal action via the WTO and bilateral negotiations with foreign trade partners was reviewed. Methods: A literature review was conducted through PUBMED, EMBASE, Media and grey literature to consolidate publications of the Trump administrations' policies and strategies towards foreign countries and drug prices. Results: The Trump administration has withdrawn from and halted major multilateral agreements including the TPP, Paris Agreement, TTIP, UNESCO, NAFTA (now USMCA), and NATO. The Trump administration has been successful in bilateral negotiations for pharmaceuticals' pricing, as seen with Japan, South Korea, Germany, and Mexico and Canada. Conclusion: The objective of raising prices abroad is attainable. Action through the WTO is unlikely, due to its nondiscriminatory principle. Bilateral trade negotiation have proven more promising. In this bilateral framework, financial security and military protection are strong assets for the USA to levy higher drug prices abroad. Although raising drug prices ex USA is possible, further questions as to whether this will directly translate into lower drug prices for American patients are raised.

Correction to: USMCA (NAFTA 2.0): tightening the constraints on the right to regulate for public health.

Following publication of the original article [1], the authors flagged an error concerning two missing article references, which were unfortunately not provided prior to publication of the article.

USMCA (NAFTA 2.0): tightening the constraints on the right to regulate for public health.

BACKGROUND: In late 2018 the United States, Canada, and Mexico signed a new trade agreement (most commonly referred to by its US-centric acronym, the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, or USMCA) to replace the 1994 North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). The new agreement is the first major trade treaty negotiated under the shadow of the Trump Administration's unilateral imposition of tariffs to pressure other countries to accept provisions more favourable to protectionist US economic interests. Although not yet ratified, the agreement is widely seen as indicative of how the US will engage in future international trade negotiations. METHODS: Drawing from methods used in earlier health impact assessments of the Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement, we undertook a detailed analysis of USMCA chapters that have direct or indirect implications for health. We began with an initial reading of the entire agreement, followed by multiple line-by-line readings of key chapters. Secondary sources and inter-rater (comparative) analyses by the four authors were used to ensure rigour in our assessments. RESULTS: The USMCA expands intellectual property rights and regulatory constraints that will lead to increased drug costs, particularly in Canada and Mexico. It opens up markets in both Canada and Mexico for US food exports without reducing the subsidies the US provides to its own producers, and introduces a number of new regulatory reforms that weaken public health oversight of food safety. It reduces regulatory policy space through new provisions on 'technical barriers to trade' and requirements for greater regulatory coherence and harmonization across the three countries. It puts some limitations on contentious investor-state dispute provisions between the US and Mexico, provisions often used to challenge or chill health and environmental measures, and eliminates them completely in disputes between the US and Canada; but it allows for new 'legacy claims' for 3 years after the agreement enters into force. Its labour and environmental chapters contain a few improvements but overall do little to ensure either workers' rights or environmental protection. CONCLUSION: Rather than enhancing public health protection the USMCA places new, extended, and enforceable obligations on public regulators that increase the power (voice) of corporate (investor) interests during the development of new regulations. It is not a health-enhancing template for future trade agreements that governments should emulate.