On October 23, the American Trucking Associations, the Canadian Trucking Alliance, and Cámara Nacional del Autotransporte de Carga (CANACAR)--the three largest trucking industry organizations in North America--issued a joint statement encouraging their governments who are currently renegotiating the North American Free Trade Agreement to craft an updated pact that benefits all nations.
“The trucking industries in Canada, Mexico, and the United States have all benefited significantly from NAFTA and we, the national trucking associations from all three countries, urge negotiators to update the trade agreement in a manner that continues to benefit trade,” the statement reads in part. “We strongly encourage our governments to update NAFTA to keep North America competitive internationally. In this endeavor, making border crossings and rules governing international commercial transportation more efficient is a crucial element that will only help our industries make North America stronger.”
The full statement is available here.
“Trucking and trade are synonymous,” said ATA President and CEO Chris Spear. “In the more than two decades since NAFTA was enacted, we have seen strong growth in trade--the majority of which is moved by truck--between the United States, Mexico, and Canada. It is vital to the health of our industry and our economy that we maintain and strengthen these relationships.”
“Cross-border trade supports over 46,000 US trucking jobs, including 31,000 US truck drivers, and generates $6.5 billion in revenue for our industry annually,” said ATA Chief Economist Bob Costello. “As the United States renegotiates this agreement with Canada and Mexico, we urge them to keep the tremendous benefits to our economy and our industry in mind.”