North American rail coalition urges NAFTA negotiators to stay at the table

Railroad industry associations from the United States, Canada and Mexico sent a rare joint letter to their respective trade negotiators as the latest round of discussions over a new North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) got underway in Montreal.    The Association of American Railroads (AAR), Railway Association of Canada (RAC), and Asociación Mexicana de Ferrocarriles (AMF) have sent a rare joint letter to trade negotiators for the United States, Canada and Mexico, urging them to stay at the table and not allow talks surrounding the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) to be derailed.
   The letter, which was sent as the latest round of NAFTA renegotiations got underway in Montreal this week, called on U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) Ambassador Robert Lighthizer, Canadian Minister of Foreign Affairs Chrystia Freeland and Mexico’s Secretary of Economy Ildefonso Guajardo Villareal to continue negotiating in good faith and to preserve the positive elements of the agreement that are already in place.
   “Economic growth tied to NAFTA has allowed railways to invest tens of billions of dollars into their infrastructure while improving productivity and customer service, and fostering innovation,” said the letter, which was signed by AAR President and CEO Edward Hamberger, RAC Acting President and CEO Gérald Gauthier, and AMF Director General Iker de Luisa Plazas.
   “Collectively, these improvements have enabled railways to maintain the low rates that are required to provide shippers with access to global supply chains and support their success,” the letter said.
   The letter cited the interconnected nature of the global economy, which necessitates a continental railroad network to provide access to markets for producers and the most affordable products to businesses and consumers in each of the three nations.
   “NAFTA has facilitated an integrated economy where a continental railway network is essential for the transportation and flow of goods across North America. It has led to additional trade, the opening of new markets, and economic growth for its signatory parties,” the tri-country coalition added. “For example, between 1993 and 2016, North American Gross Domestic Product increased by 166 percent, from U.S. $8.0 trillion to $21.2 trillion. Over the same period, trade between the United States and Canada increased by 157 percent, from $211.7 billion to $544.6 billion. Similarly, trade between the United States and Mexico increased 543 percent, from $81.8 billion to $523.8 billion, whereas trade between Canada and Mexico increased 776 percent, from $3.5 billion to $30.8 billion.”
   In a separate statement, AAR’s Hamberger said, “We are thrilled to work with our peers in Canada and Mexico to send a simple message: we must not exit NAFTA in the admirable pursuit of modernizing the agreement.
   “Our members serve customers that touch nearly every sector of the global economy and do so through a complex supply chain spearheaded by railroads. This cannot be upended overnight, so we are hopeful that representatives can forge a deal that continues to improve economic outcomes across all countries and North America as a whole.”