The Naperville Area Chamber of Commerce is showing support for a national trade agreement.
An Outdated Trade Agreement
The North American Free Trade Agreement, or NAFTA, has allowed free trade between the U.S., Canada, and Mexico since 1994.
But with more and more business being done online, many believe an update is necessary.
“It’s very outdated in the sense that during that time, there was no e-commerce,” said Reba Osborne, director of government affairs for the chamber. “There were a lot of different innovations that have occurred since that time to make it not the best functioning, useful agreement.”
Local leaders were joined by the representatives from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the Canadian consulate, and the Mexican consulate to show support for the proposed United States – Mexico – Canada agreement.
Local Business Hosts
The event was hosted by Spanesi Americas, a local bodyshop equipment company who supports the USMCA.
“The biggest thing to realize is from this North American location, we export to both Canada and Mexico and we’ve seen some decline in growth in Canada because customers have been waiting to see what was going to happen with this agreement and when it was going to be passed,” said Spanesi Americas COO Timothy Morgan.
Both Canada and Mexico have affirmed support for the new agreement, but it still needs to pass the U.S. Souse and Senate. The deal did get a public nod of approval recently from House Speaker Nancy Pelosi who said House Democrats had reached an agreement with the White House.
Illinois exported and estimated $27.6 billion to Canada and Mexico in 2017.
Naperville News 17’s Casey Krajewski reports.