Overview[]
The Trilateral Committee on Transborder Data Flows was established in 2008 to further the goals of the Security and Prosperity Partnership (SPP). The Committee is composed of government representatives from Canada, Mexico and the United States and has been working in consultation with the business communities, civil and law societies, and academia in each country to identify and address impediments to electronic information flows across borders that affect economic growth. The work of the Committee is led by Industry Canada, the Ministry of Economy in Mexico, and the U.S. Department of Commerce.
The Committee is a forum for dialogue between the business community and the governments of the United States, Canada, and Mexico on ways to address problems that inhibit cross-border services trade and information flows. The Committee aims to provide a strategic direction for addressing these problems and underscore the importance of free information flows in support of a growing and efficient North American market.
In April 2008, the Statement on the Free Flow of Information (Statement) was signed by representatives from Canada, Mexico and the United States. The Statement affirms that sustained economic growth is dependent on a “transparent legal, policy and regulatory environment that permits the free flow of information across borders and facilitates its use for the conduct of trade and commerce.”
On April 16, 2010, the Committee issued its Report of the Trilateral Committee on Transborder Data Flows.
Over the course of 2010, the Committee’s goals and recommendations were furthered by significant examinations of or changes to the privacy policy frameworks in the three participating countries. Both Canada and the United States are examining their domestic commercial privacy frameworks to determine how they might be improved and better support trade and innovation. Mexico passed comprehensive commercial data protection legislation in 2010 to achieve these same goals. These efforts have been coupled with increased outreach to the business community regarding privacy frameworks in each country.
A joint update provides an overview of this work and how it has furthered the Committee’s goal of reducing barriers to transborder data flows that affect economic growth.
The Committee report and additional information regarding the Committee’s work is available at each country’s Trilateral Committee website:
- United States website
- Canadian website
- Mexican website [link needed]