International Trade committee  Excellent.

International Trade committee  Thank you. It's an interesting question. In some ways, this NAFTA modernization is quite different from other trade negotiations. It's first of all different because we already have an agreement in place, and I think I would have to say it's really quite a good agreement. It's o

International Trade committee  I think it's both. I think people don't identify the degree to which somebody's consumer goods are much less expensive, and that there's greater competition in the marketplace in a way that brings more choice as well as lower costs. That's missing. It's easy to say, in those na

International Trade committee  Well, this is a question that journalists often ask us and that we try to avoid answering.

International Trade committee  When we're asked if we support multilateral or bilateral trade agreements, we typically answer “yes”. There are many bilateral trade agreements that the United States has entered into that have been good and meaningful and have brought real benefits to both parties, but multilate

International Trade committee  The United States has withdrawn from the TPP and is not participating. When we're talking about this with the U.S. administration, we usually at that point say, “Well, I understand, but what's the strategy, then?” By the year 2022, two-thirds of the world's middle-class consumers

International Trade committee  I think it's an excellent point. For the United States and Canada it's so obvious. We all know NAFTA families. In fact, my middle name is from a French-Canadian ancestor, so it's very common. Perhaps a better example right now is to think about Mexico's progress in recent decad

International Trade committee  I hear you.

International Trade committee  The debates about NAFTA over many years have been complex. Yet, that's not where we are. This isn't 1992 or 1993 and trying to decide whether to forge ahead with this agreement. It's 2017 and it's been the law of the land for decades. Industry has accommodated itself to this. Sec

International Trade committee  It is a matter of considerable interest at the moment in Washington. Senator Cornyn, who's the number two ranking member of the Senate, is at work on a bill to reform our CFIUS process. That's the committee on foreign investment in the United States through which we have a proces

International Trade committee  What's driving it, you mean, if in fact the business and agriculture communities are not expressing serious concerns about the NAFTA? As I've mentioned, there is a case for modernization of the agreement in a number of areas, and that's sincere and substantial. The U.S. Chamber

International Trade committee  Do I see a permanent solution?

International Trade committee  Well, it's not the solution that policy-makers can bring up and impose, but I do think that over time there's going to be more integration in this sector, and that will make these kinds of trade disputes less likely. I do think it's interesting that we're having this conversati

International Trade committee  Yes, I'd be happy to find a copy of the letter and share that with you. This was a collection of U.S. agricultural organizations that had expressed concern about the U.S. administration's interest in doing away with chapter 19. In essence, it was a position that was somewhat alig

International Trade committee  I don't have specifics, but generally speaking, the kinds of regulatory co-operation initiatives that we've seen in recent years have a real constituency in our membership. The Regulatory Co-operation Council is a program of which we've been very supportive and we've seen some mo