U.S. Business and Labor Groups Caution Trump in NAFTA Renegotiation

Key U.S. industry and labor leaders issued a unified plea to the Trump administration this week: modernize the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), but do not destroy it. The rare joint statement from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the AFL-CIO labor federation urges negotiators to "do no harm" as talks to rewrite the 24-year-old pact continue. This call for caution comes as President Donald Trump has repeatedly threatened to completely withdraw the United States from the deal. Ongoing hearings in Washington, D.C., highlight deep anxiety over the trade pact's future. Stakeholders are concerned that aggressive U.S. demands could stall negotiations, potentially leading the president to follow through on his threat to terminate the agreement. The unified message from typically adversarial groups underscores the high economic stakes for all three member nations—the United States, Canada, and Mexico. Millions of jobs and integrated supply chains depend on the trilateral trade framework.