A modernized North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) that will benefit all parties involved is a key motivation behind the Association of Consulting Engineering Companies \u2014 Canada\u2019s (ACEC) decision to join the Coalition to Keep Trade Free, as the push to find political common ground takes centre stage. <\/p>\n
John Gamble, president and CEO of ACEC \u2013 Canada, said a major factor to becoming part of the coalition, which is being led by the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, was driven by the uncertainty around NAFTA negotiations and the impact U.S. tariffs will have across the engineering sector and the economy. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe want a fair, balanced agreement that allows both sides of the border to be successful, one that doesn\u2019t burden consumers of both goods and services with unnecessary tariffs,\u201d said Gamble. <\/p>\n
ACEC joined the coalition just days before a bilateral trade agreement was reached between the U.S. and Mexico on Aug. 28. Canada\u2019s Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland headed to Washington the following day to re-join negotiations with the United States and Mexico. As of press deadline, no negotiation between Canada and the U.S. had been reached, however, it was reported that positive progress was being made. <\/p>\n
Gamble acknowledged NAFTA was \u201coverdue for a revisit. NAFTA predates the Internet but it has been a success story. Despite what President (Donald) Trump says, it has been very good for the U.S. In fact, U.S. exports to Canada are up almost three-fold since NAFTA was signed back in the early \u201890s. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\nIt\u2019s important we get it together because we\u2019re seeing an emerging China into the global marketplace<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
\u2014 John Gamble<\/h4>\n
Association of Consulting Engineering Companies \u2014 Canada<\/h4>\n
<\/p>\n
\u201cCollectively the NAFTA partners are about 23 per cent of the global economy so it\u2019s not just good for Canada, it\u2019s good for the United States, it\u2019s good for Mexico and it\u2019s good for North America.\u201d<\/p>\n
He said news of the agreement between Mexico and the U.S. was not \u201centirely unexpected.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe (Trump) did make reference to the fact that, to his credit, he\u2019s open to either a separate bilateral agreement with Canada or being folded into the same agreement,\u201d he said. \u201cHe made it very clear that his next priority is to turn his attention to Canada and get a deal done there. If you strip away his hyperbole the words are encouraging. I have to note, however, his announcement is almost devoid of details.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s important we get it together because we\u2019re seeing an emerging China into the global marketplace and it\u2019s important we have our backyard in order.\u201d <\/p>\n
The coalition helps organizations mobilize at the local, state\/provincial and federal levels to advocate for freer trade within North America and around the world, as well as to ensure a successful renegotiation of NAFTA for continued economic prosperity for Canada, the U.S. and Mexico, indicates a release issued by ACEC.<\/p>\n
NAFTA creates a business environment that allows ACEC \u2013 Canada members to be successful, Gamble said, adding it also allows global competitiveness. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe have a lot of firms that are active on both sides of the border \u2014 some Canadian owned, some American owned \u2014 and we want the ability for these companies to conduct business across the border with minimal red tape and minimal interruption,\u201d said Gamble.<\/p>\n
Not only are Canadian consulting engineering companies competitive under free trade, but they also deliver the trade-enabling infrastructure that connects communities and allows all sectors to efficiently access markets, Gamble noted.<\/p>\n
\u201cTrade doesn\u2019t just happen,\u201d he said. \u201cWhether it\u2019s physical infrastructure like roads, bridges, ports, airports or telecommunications, that\u2019s also very important to having a very diversified and cost-effective economy.\u201d<\/p>\n
The biggest issue for the association is the impact on the client sector. Free trade is in the best interests of clients, Gamble pointed out. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s very important to us that the manufacturing sector, the energy sector, the natural resource sector, the telecommunications sector as well as the engineering construction sector have access to markets and that the U.S. is easily able to export into Canada as part of our supply chain,\u201d said Gamble. \u201cThis is a two-way deal and part of it is selling things to market and part of it is coming up with a cost effective and efficient supply chain.\u201d <\/p>\n
He added, \u201cWe need to reach out directly to our counterparts, the people we are actually doing business with, the people who are our markets, who are part of our supply chain and make sure that they know the facts and not the out of context anecdotes the president seems to be so fond of. <\/p>\n
\u201cIf we have a successful client sector, we are going to have a successful consulting engineering sector.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
A modernized North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) that will benefit all parties involved is a key motivation behind the Association of Consulting Engineering Companies \u2014 Canada\u2019s (ACEC) decision to join the Coalition to Keep Trade Free, as the push to find political common ground takes centre stage. John Gamble, president and CEO of ACEC […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":31,"featured_media":144558,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_expiration-date-status":"saved","_expiration-date":0,"_expiration-date-type":"","_expiration-date-categories":[],"_expiration-date-options":[]},"categories":[8],"tags":[6972,10140,12353,17241,38,1230,526,35,635,24971,17216,11022,701,12381,18704,1221],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n
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