The Greater Vancouver Board of Trade and two-dozen of its peers from across North America are urging NAFTA negotiators in Montreal to buckle down and broker a deal.
Concerns have been growing over the lack of progress made during renegotiations of the North American Free Trade Agreement since talks began in August.
U.S. President Donald Trump has repeatedly threatened to end the deal and Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland told reporters earlier this month her country is preparing for a possible exit.
In a January 22 joint statement, 25 boards of trade and chambers of commerce in Canada, Mexico and the U.S. urged their “respective governments to come to an agreement to an updated NAFTA, and to maintain it for the future economic success of all three nations.”
Representatives from business groups are gathered in Montreal, where the sixth round of NAFTA talks resumed this week.
In a note to investors, economists at RBC Economics said observers should watch for progress regarding rules of origin, government procurement, the Chapter 19 dispute mechanism, Canadian supply management and a potential sunset clause that would terminate NAFTA every five years unless the trade agreement is renewed.
The 25 boards of trade, who say they represent a combined GDP of US$3.5 trillion, noted in their 360-word joint statement that NAFTA has helped boost Canadian foreign direct investment in the U.S. from US$40 billion to US$400 billion.
Joint statement signatories:
Albany
Boston
Brampton
Calgary
Chihuahua
Cleveland
Dallas
Detroit
Edmonton
Halifax
Kansas City
Los Angeles
Mérida
Mexico City
Minneapolis
Monterrey
Montreal
Querétaro
San Antonio
St. Louis
Tijuana
Toronto
Vancouver
Veracruz
Winnipeg
