U.S., Canadian and Mexican Business Leaders Highlight Importance of NAFTA Negotiations in Supporting Jobs, Growth and Competitiveness
Business leaders from the United States, Canada and Mexico met today in Washington to discuss the importance of modernizing NAFTA and further strengthening North American economic relations. Business Roundtable Chairman Jamie Dimon of JPMorgan Chase & Co. hosted the meeting in partnership with Linda Hasenfratz, Chair of the Business Council of Canada, and Alejandro Ramírez Magaña, Chairman of the Consejo Mexicano de Negocios.
Following the meeting, the three organizations issued the following statement:
“Business leaders across North America support negotiations to modernize and strengthen NAFTA and help make the North American marketplace even more vibrant and competitive. NAFTA drives significant economic growth and job creation in each of our countries. Hundreds of thousands of businesses in our three countries trade with one another and millions of jobs are supported by trade in goods and services among our countries.
“The global economy has changed dramatically since our respective governments negotiated NAFTA more than two decades ago. New industries and new challenges have emerged, including e-commerce, the digital economy and competition from state-owned companies. Negotiations to modernize and strengthen NAFTA provide a key opportunity to bring NAFTA into the 21st century so our companies and workers will be even more competitive in the future.
“We urge our governments to preserve and build on NAFTA’s proven benefits for businesses, workers and consumers. Negotiators must take care not to erect new barriers to the $1.3 trillion in trade across our borders. Equally, they must avoid disrupting supply chains that enable our companies and workers to produce globally competitive goods and services.
“Each of our organizations is fully committed to working with our respective governments and business communities to ensure the success of these negotiations to modernize and strengthen NAFTA.”
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About Business Roundtable:
Business Roundtable CEO members lead companies with nearly 15 million employees and more than $6 trillion in annual revenues. The combined market capitalization of Business Roundtable member companies is the equivalent of nearly one-quarter of total U.S. stock market capitalization, and Business Roundtable members invest more than $100 billion annually in research and development — equal to 30 percent of U.S. private R&D spending. Our companies pay over $220 billion in dividends to shareholders and generate more than $400 billion in revenues for small and medium-sized businesses annually. Business Roundtable companies also make more than $7 billion a year in charitable contributions. Learn more at BusinessRoundtable.org
About the Business Council of Canada:
The Business Council of Canada brings business leaders together to shape public policy in the interests of a stronger Canada and a better world. Founded in 1976, the Business Council is a non-profit, non-partisan organization composed of the chief executives of Canada’s leading enterprises, representing every region and sector of the economy. Through supply chain partnerships, service contracts and mentoring programs, Business Council members support many hundreds of thousands of small businesses and entrepreneurs in communities of all sizes across Canada. Learn more at thebusinesscouncil.ca
About the Consejo Mexicano de Negocios:
The Consejo Mexicano de Negocios (CMN) is a non-profit, non-partisan organization founded in 1962. The CMN brings together the 50 largest Mexican business leaders to work together to make Mexico a more prosperous country. To do this, the CMN is building stronger institutions and shaping public policies that foster Mexico’s competitiveness. Currently the CMN is working in new ways to fight corruption and foster the rule of law. Through its different programs, the CMN has also supported hundreds of thousands of students and thousands of small businesses in the past eight years. The firms of the CMN employ over 2 million people and invest over 30 billion dollars globally every year.
