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Trade Facilitation

About Trade Facilitation and Country Partnerships

PHMSA engages in bi-lateral dialogues with many countries as part of harmonizing the U.S. Hazardous Materials Regulations (HMR) with international standards and regulations. Currently, our main country partnerships are with Canada, China, and Mexico.

Canada

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PHMSA and its Canadian counterpart, Transport Canada's Transport of Dangerous Goods Directorate meet regularly to discuss and share programmatic goals, increase collaboration, and ensure North American alignment to the extent possible.  

PHMSA also engages with Transport Canada through the United States-Canada Regulatory Cooperation Council (RCC). The RCC aims to reduce or eliminate regulatory differences between the United States and Canada. Click here for the Transportation of Dangerous Goods. Click here for the official Canadian Regulations for the Transportation of Dangerous Goods.

China

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The U.S.-China Transportation Forum (TF) serves as the principal forum for high-level multi-modal transportation discussions involving U.S. and China government and industry experts. Through the TF, officials work to develop mutually beneficial solutions to common transportation challenges. There are four policy dialogues:

1) Safety

2) Innovation

3) Infrastructure Planning, Financing and Maintenance

4) Disaster Preparedness and Response

PHMSA operates within the Safety Policy Dialogue. The 9th TF was held in April 2018 in Beijing, China. Click here for more information.

In addition to the TF, PHMSA maintains open lines of communication with Chinese counterparts through providing best practices and technical assistance.

Mexico

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PHMSA routinely engages with its counterparts at the Secretariat of Communications and Transportation to ensure the safe transportation of hazardous materials across the southern border. Click here for the Official Mexican Standards (Normas Oficiales Mexicanas or NOMs).