September 11, 2017
On August 16, Jerry Sanders joined border Mayors and other elected officials from the United States, Mexico, and Canada for a press conference to urge federal leaders in Washington to support the modernization of the North American Free Trade Agreement and continue their ongoing effort to make the region one of the most prosperous in the world.
Representatives from the U.S. included:
- Mayor of San Diego, Kevin Faulconer
- Mayor of Imperial Beach, Serge Dedina
- Mayor of National City, Ron Morrison
- Consul William Ostick from the U.S. Consulate in Tijuana.
Representatives on behalf of Mexico included:
- Mayor of Tijuana Juan Manuel Gastelum
- Mayor of Mexicali, Gustavo Sanchez
- Ambassador Marcela Celorio from the Mexican Consulate in San Diego.
Additionally, Consul James Villanueva, from the Canadian Consulate in Los Angeles, participated in the representation of our Canadian neighbors.
The group expressed their support of NAFTA and highlighted the importance of a renewed commitment to trade in North America. Mayor Faulconer commented, “trade between Mexico and the United States, moving through San Diego has increased threefold totaling $60 billion each year, a $5 billion growth under NAFTA”. The Mayors agreed on the economic driver NAFTA has been to the region and all three countries.
San Diego and Baja California have leveraged NAFTA to create a $2.5 billion manufacturing supply chain that supports co-production between the two cities. The Chamber continues its advocacy efforts in support of NAFTA through its support and involvement in tthese discussions A delegation of almost 150 binational business, community, and government leaders will travel to Washington D. C. from September 24th to 27th to advocate for NAFTA among other binational priorities. As part of the agenda, a trade panel moderated by Congressmen Darrell Issa will analyze and discuss the economic impact of trade nationwide and cover areas of opportunity.
For more on the press conference click here to read the press release.
