Business heads in Canada, U.S. and Mexico form alliance to create jobs

The Canadian Chamber of Commerce, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and Mexico’s Consejo Coordinador Empresarial have launched a new joint effort: the North American Economic Alliance.

The alliance is meant to allow the business community in all three countries to speak with one voice “to enhance competitiveness and create jobs in North America,” says a release authored by the heads of the three business organizations.

The release says the alliance’s first order of business is “to engage meaningfully in the debate over NAFTA’s future.”

Read: U.S. opens NAFTA consultations

To that end, the alliance is pressing leaders to adhere to certain principles, some of which are expressed in the following statements:

Efforts to update NAFTA must not undermine the strong foundation that exists.
An updated deal must remain trilateral.
The three governments must consult with the private sector during the negotiation process.

In a statement that seems directed at President Trump, the release says, “The trade deficit is the wrong yardstick for measuring success or failure in a trade agreement. After all, inbound investment and faster economic growth can cause a trade deficit to expand. Don’t we want more of those?”

Read: Canada’s exports hit record high in April

Yesterday, the alliance hosted a forum to work toward its goals.

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