NAFTA Negotiations Update: Round 6

The NAFTA negotiations have moved into the sixth round in Montreal with some uncertainty regarding the path forward. Over the past two weeks, we had a chance to meet with some of our governors, legislative leaders, state departments of commerce and business stakeholders in Olympia, Boise and Juneau. One of the top issues discussed during our visits was NAFTA and the possible scenarios unfolding in the coming months. Some jurisdictions have proactively engaged stakeholders to get their input on the importance of NAFTA to share with the administration and our congressional delegation. Idaho recently hosted a small business forum with the SBA to better understand the benefits of NAFTA and to seek input on ways to improve it. We are continuing to encourage our regional business leaders to reach out to the administration and congress to provide input as we move forward. ​

Two members of our regional congressional delegation are expected to attend this round in Montreal as part of a bi-partisan delegation. Reps. Dave Reichert (WA) and Suzan Delbene (WA), along with other members of the House Ways and Means Trade subcommittee (Reps. Sandy Levin (MI), Ron Kind (WI), Brian Higgins (NY) and Terri Sewell (AL), Mike Bishop (MI), Adrian Smith (NE) and Tom Rice (SC) will attend meetings this weekend.  Click here for the full article.

Recently Trade Partnerships Worldwide did an analysis on the potential impact of a NAFTA withdrawal on each state. This analysis projected a loss of 1.8 million jobs in the first year in the US, see link for full report Terminating NAFTA: The National and State-by-State Impacts on Jobs, Exports and Output (2018)  

Below are a few updates and relevant articles you might be interested in:

NAFTA: A Primer for the Montreal Round - Colin Robertson 

How should Canadian businesses prepare for a world without NAFTA?

Senate Republicans Lobbying Trump to Stay in NAFTA

U.S. mulls Canada's proposals to unblock NAFTA, talks grind on