North America Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA)
The CalChamber actively supports the creation of the North America Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) among the United States, Canada and Mexico, comprising 445 million people with combined annual exports of over $917 billion.
NAFTA benefitsCalChamber support for NAFTA is based upon an assessment that it serves the employment, trading and environmental interests of California and the United States, as well as Canada and Mexico, and is beneficial to the business community and society as a whole.
The objectives of NAFTA are to eliminate barriers to trade, promote conditions of fair competition, increase investment opportunities, provide adequate protection of intellectual property rights, establish effective procedures for implementing and applying the agreements and resolving disputes, and to further trilateral, regional and multilateral cooperation.
Mexico
Mexico continues to be California’s number one export market with California exports to Mexico totalling $21 billion. Mexico purchases 15 percent of all California exports.
California’s exports to Mexico are driven by computers and transportation equipment, which account for 30 percent of all California exports to Mexico.
In a report cited by the Public Policy Institute of California, it is noted that the value of property, plant and equipment (PPE) owned by Mexican companies in California is now estimated at $1.2 billion.
September 2011:
US – Mexico Economic Relations: Job Creation Starts with Trade
Mexico is the second-largest export market for the United States. Over 17 years of the North America Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), U.S. exports to Mexico have quadrupled, reaching $163 billion in 2010, or almost 13% of its exports worldwide.
The burgeoning of U.S. exports to Mexico has been broad based geographically under NAFTA. The 50 U.S. states have significantly increased exports to Mexico; 46 states have at least doubled their sales, which have spurred benefits beyond U.S. border states, such as Texas and California, to include the industrial Northeast, the South and the agricultural heartland.
U.S. exports to Mexico spur the creation of more and better paying jobs. Nearly 6 million jobs in the United States depend on trade with Mexico, according to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. Many of these jobs are employed in small and medium enterprises (SMEs) throughout the United States; almost one-third of all U.S. exports to Mexico are exported by SMEs as found by the International Trade Commission.
Canada
The U.S. Department of Commerce shows that two-way trade between Canada and the United States totaled $524 billion in 2010 - the largest bilateral exchange in the world.
Canada remained California's second largest export market, with California exports to Canada increasing to $16.1 billion in 2010. Canada purchases 11 percent of all California exports. Computers and electronic products remained California's largest exports to Canada, accounting for 31 percent of all California exports to Canada.
California exports to Canada directly and indirectly support approximately 110,000 jobs in California, with many of those resulting from export growth under NAFTA.
In 2011, President Barack Obama and Prime Minister Stephen Harper announced the creation of a United States-Canada Regulatory Cooperation Council (RCC) and Beyond the Border (BTB) initiatives. In recognition of our $1 trillion annual trade and investment relationship, the RCC and BTB will foster formal cooperation between the U.S. and Canada to promote economic growth, job creation, perimeter security and other benefits to our consumers and businesses through increased regulatory transparency and coordination.
CalChamber Support
California Chamber support for the NAFTA is based upon an assessment that it serves the employment, trading and environmental interests of California and the United States, as well as Canada and Mexico, and will be beneficial to the business community and society as a whole.
The objectives of the NAFTA are to eliminate barriers to trade, promote conditions of fair competition, increase investment opportunities, provide adequate protection of intellectual property rights, establish effective procedures for implementing and applying the agreement, and for resolving disputes, and to further trilateral, regional and multilateral cooperation.
NAFTA: 15 Years Later
In three separate ceremonies, in the three capitals on Dec. 17, 1992, President George H.W. Bush, Mexican President Salinas, and Canadian Prime Minister Mulroney signed the historic North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). The framework agreement proposed to eliminate restrictions on the flow of goods, services, and investment in North America. After passing through both the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate, NAFTA was signed into law by President Clinton December 8, 1993, and took effect on January 1, 1994.
The CalChamber’s support for NAFTA is based upon an assessment that it serves the employment, trading and environmental interests of California and the United States, as well as, Canada and Mexico, and is beneficial to the business community and society as a whole.
Since 1993, trade between the three NAFTA countries has more than tripled. The U.S. Department of Commerce shows that Mexico continues to be California’s number one export market.
NAFTA Links
NAFTA – Myth vs. Facts
NAFTA Secretariat Website
International Trade Administration Information on NAFTA