Ripon Advance News Service - U.S. Sens. Deb Fischer (R-NE) and Jeff Flake (R-AZ) led a letter on
Monday that highlighted the positive impacts of the North American Free
Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and the potential consequences of abandoning the
trade deal.
The letter to U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer was signed
by 18 senators, including U.S. Sens. Lamar Alexander (R-TN), Roy Blunt
(R-MO), Joni Ernst (R-IA), Chuck Grassley (R-IA), Ron Johnson (R-WI),
Jerry Moran (R-KS), John Thune (R-SD), Mike Rounds (R-SD) and Pat
Roberts (R-KS).
“Given that the agreement is more than two decades old, there are
areas in which NAFTA will benefit from strengthening and modernization,”
the letter states. “On the other hand, efforts to abandon the agreement
or impose unnecessary restrictions on trade with our North American
partners will have devastating economic consequences.”
The senators noted that NAFTA has led to “tremendous growth” in U.S.
trade with Mexico and Canada, and that it has “integrated cross-border
supply chains that benefit U.S. employers, and more than tripled U.S.
exports of goods, including agricultural and manufactured goods, and
services.”
U.S. trade policy has been a prominent issue in recent months, the
letter acknowledges, and taking a fresh look at NAFTA will be an
immediate priority.
President Donald Trump had discussed terminating NAFTA as recently as
last month, but had said he would delay such a move after the president
of Mexico and the prime minister of Canada urged the United States to
renegotiate rather than scrap the deal.
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