July 1, 2016

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In response to presidential candidate Donald Trump’s comments that he would renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) or inform both Mexico and Canada that “America intends to withdraw from the deal,” San Diego Chamber President & CEO Jerry Sanders issued the following statement:

“The trade policies proposed by Donald Trump are unrealistic, counter-intuitive, and would be damaging to our economy and jobs. As a port and border city, San Diego exports $17.9 billion worth of goods which support more than 110,000 jobs in San Diego. These trade-related jobs are also higher paying at 13 and 18 percent more than non trade-related jobs.

Under NAFTA specifically, California has seen a 290 percent increase in its exports to Mexico supporting 692,240 jobs in the state. Since NAFTA’s implementation, trade volume has more than tripled among its partners and enabled the North American economy to double in size.

With more than 95 percent of our consumers residing outside of the U.S., it is essential that the U.S. continue to open new markets for American goods and services, while creating and sustaining jobs for American workers. This is how we remain competitive and create jobs in a globalizing economy.”

The San Diego Chamber has a long history of advocating for pro-business international policy, including – most recently – facilitating the agreement to finance a new cross-border railroad; assisting the procurement of funds for border infrastructure projects; and expediting the process to expand and modernize the San Ysidro Port of Entry.

Despite the presidential candidate’s rhetoric, the Chamber team will continue its work to improve relationships between business owners in Mexico and the United States, and promote policy to expand San Diego’s presence in the global marketplace.