The San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce reiterated its support for the modernized North American Free Trade Agreement and is working with cross-border partners to seek its ratification.
The revised agreement, now known as the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, or USMCA, was officially signed Nov. 30 and now enters the ratification process.
Congress in the United States and legislative bodies in Canada and Mexico must all ratify the agreement for it to become law.
“Our mission as champions for cross-border commerce starts with ensuring our region’s businesses have access to our top trade partners: Mexico and Canada,” said Jerry Sanders, president and CEO of the chamber. “The United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement will bring certainty to businesses and preserve the trilateral trading bloc that has brought economic vitality to our region for more than a quarter century.”
The chamber’s board voted unanimously to support the updated trade agreement at its meeting in October. A long-time supporter of NAFTA, the chamber has actively participated in legislative hearings and public comment periods throughout the past year and a half in the renegotiation process.
The tariff-free commerce between the United States, Canada, and Mexico has created deeply interlinked cross-border supply chains. In San Diego, this has resulted in a $2.5 billion supply chain and more than 110,000 jobs that are supported by trade.
Chamber officials say the revised agreement will allow for continued growth in trade and restore predictability and certainty in North America’s private sector. For San Diego specifically, provisions protecting intellectual property, enforceable labor protections, modernization of the customs chapter, the preservation of the TN work visa, and assistance to small businesses are particularly important. In addition, the agreement’s environment enforcement provisions could be used to address the Tijuana River Valley pollution issue.
The termination of NAFTA, without a replacement in place, would result in a disruption of supply chains causing production cost increases, chamber officials said.
