U.S. and Canadian manufacturers: We must have a trilateral agreement

National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) President/CEO Jay Timmons and Canadian Manufacturers & Exporters (CME) President/CEO Dennis Darby have released the following statement on the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA):

"Manufacturers in the United States and Canada firmly support moving forward at full speed to seize the opportunity to forge a new trade deal with the United States, Canada, and Mexico. There is an unprecedented volume of goods flowing between the three countries and significant integration of operations, which makes a trilateral agreement an imperative. Such an agreement secures the jobs of our manufacturing workers and strengthens the critical U.S.–Canada trading relationship. We must also stand together with our regional allies to ensure competitors like China do not reap the rewards of unfair antimarket trade practices. Because of our two countries' nearly $700 billion trading relationship, our economies are inextricably linked, and our manufacturing workers depend on a strong deal that keeps us all growing and prospering for generations to come."