NAFTA

A revised trade deal linking the U.S., Canada and Mexico was approved by the Senate Thursday, finalizing a years-long effort to update the pact.

The North Country Chamber of Commerce is praising Thursday’s U.S. House approval of the U.S. Mexico Canada Agreement, a tri-lateral trade agreement meant to replace NAFTA.

Democrats in the U.S. House announced Tuesday that they had reached an agreement on the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement to replace the North American Free Trade Agreement or NAFTA. Border interests in the North Country have been waiting for the announcement and call it a substantial move to provide stability in cross border trade.

Every year, the North Country Chamber hosts a business expo, gathering representatives across industrial sectors in Plattsburgh to network and discuss issues.  During this year’s event in Plattsburgh, North Country Bureau Chief Pat Bradley asked exhibitors about cross-border trade and whether they had concerns about ratification of the USMCA — known as the new NAFTA.

The U.S. International Trade Commission has released its analysis of the renegotiated North American Free Trade Agreement now known as the USMCA or the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement. The North Country Chamber of Commerce is calling it a critical move toward Congressional approval and restoring certainty and predictability in cross border trade.

The Canadian government is reviewing the new agreement that replaces the tri-country trade pact long known as NAFTA. While there remain a few concerns, most ministers anticipate Parliament will ratify the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, or USMCA, by late spring.  McGill University Desautels Faculty of Management Associate Professor Karl Moore is a regular contributor to the Globe and Mail, Forbes and hosts the CEO Series on CJAD radio in Montreal.   He tells WAMC’s North Country Bureau Chief Pat Bradley most Canadians are relieved that a new agreement has been reached.

The North Country Chamber of Commerce held its first ever International Trade Day in Plattsburgh Wednesday.  The program brought together border officials and businesses to network and get updates on cross-border regulatory changes.

The usually placid relations between the United States and Canada were a bit choppy recently as negotiators from both nations faced a deadline to reach a trade agreement to replace NAFTA, the 24-year-old North American Free Trade Agreement which President Trump once called a job-killing disaster. The U.S. reached an agreement with Mexico weeks ago and with time running out also reached an agreement with Canada that must be ratified by Congress. 

New York’s junior U.S. senator is calling for assurances that the state’s dairy industry will be protected in any NAFTA renegotiation with Canada. In a conference call Tuesday, Democrat Kirsten Gillibrand said the president should reject any plan with unfair quotas and tariffs or that prevents producers from selling milk products in Canada.

WAMC's Dr. Alan Chartock discusses the live Berkshire D.A. Democratic primary debate today at the Fitzpatrick in Stockbridge, Mass. Dr. Chartock also shares his thoughts on NAFTA talks between the U.S. and Mexico.

Trade between New York and the Canadian province of Quebec is crucial to the Empire State. For example, Quebec exports more than $6 billion in goods to New York, and in Clinton County alone more than 180 Quebec-based companies have a presence.
Quebec Delegate General in New York Jean-Claude Lauzon, the province’s top diplomat in the United States, recently visited some of the Quebec-based businesses operating in the Plattsburgh area and met with regional officials.  Lauzon also spent some time discussing the impacts of federally imposed tariffs and NAFTA renegotiations on cross-border trade.

A small group of protesters held signs and milled about the entry to the Stowe Mountain Lodge earlier this week as governors and premiers from around the Northeast met inside.

At a fragile time in U.S.-Canada relations, the New England Governors and Eastern Canadian Premiers held their 42nd annual meeting in Stowe, Vermont this week.

New York Congresswoman Elise Stefanik led a delegation from the North Country to Ottawa, Canada Monday to discuss cross-border economic concerns.

New England governors and Eastern Canadian premiers are talking about Canadian-U.S. trade relations days after President Donald Trump threatened to abandon the North American Free Trade Agreement.

The North American Free Trade Agreement between the U.S., Mexico and Canada has been in effect for more than two decades.  President Donald Trump has promised to renegotiate the deal.  During a business expo in Plattsburgh last week, WAMC’s North Country Bureau Chief Pat Bradley discovered that many businesses in the border region aren’t worried about the pending negotiations.