Quotable Quotes.

“Our nations are linked not only by continent, but also by culture, by commerce, and by common interest. We have long shared core values and a commitment to free enterprise, free markets, and open trade. It is no exaggeration to say that the U.S.-Canada relationship has never been stronger than it is today. Our relationship has helped establish North America as the world’s most competitive economic region.”

“Withdrawing from NAFTA would be devastating for the workers, businesses, and economies of our countries.”

“We understand that further integrating our economies will drive benefits on both sides of the border, creating stronger economic growth and greater opportunities for our people. And we know that if we seize opportunities in trade, energy, infrastructure, supply chains, and human capital, we can sharpen our competitiveness in a global economy—and we can be a powerful and positive influence in the world.”

“NAFTA is wiring that connects and provides power to large parts of the American economy”

“NAFTA deserves much of the credit for transforming North America from a region characterized by suspicion into one where together we can confront transnational security and economic threats.”

“NAFTA also creates substantial benefits for all three countries that extend beyond the sphere of trade. NAFTA has driven a process of converging environmental standards, safety regulations, and rules of business ethics that has improved working and living conditions in all three countries. These common standards signal credibility to the rest of the world, which has allowed North America to attract growing levels of international investment since the beginning of NAFTA.”

“Efforts to retreat from the global marketplace will only undercut the gains the U.S. has achieved from free trade, like more affordable consumer goods and the ability to capture competitive gains from specialization across the North American continent”

“Canada and the United States have forged one of the most successful economic partnerships the world has ever seen. Millions of families on both sides of the borders benefit from trade. Now, more than ever, we need to actively promote the advantages of trade and point out the dangers of protectionism. We must be vigilant in protecting our shared prosperity.”

“NAFTA is a more substantial agreement and a more significant concern (than TPP). An established arrangement, its provisions are now embedded in the fabric of everyday investment, production, and consumption decisions in the United States, Canada, and Mexico.

“Casual overthrow of NAFTA rules and regulations could have devastating costs for millions of Americans. That’s not to say that NAFTA shouldn’t be renegotiated. Improvement is possible in many areas. Energy, for example, was deemed too difficult an issue to handle in the 1990s. It might now be ripe for inclusion in an updated NAFTA.”

“Scrapping NAFTA would be a disastrously bad idea. It would hurt American families at the check-out, and it would cripple American producers in the field and the office. Yes, there are places where our agreements could be modernized but here’s the bottom line: trade lowers prices for American consumers and it expands markets for American goods. Risking trade wars is reckless, not wise.”

NAFTA’s demise and a potential trade spat on the continent would disrupt and possibly cripple that flow, and send manufacturers to seek cheaper supplies overseas, according to Joseph Parilla, a fellow at the Brookings Institution.

“If we diminish our competitiveness in a way that makes it more attractive for those supply chains to just fully up and leave North America, that could essentially be the death knell for American manufacturing,” he said.

“NAFTA recognizes the reality of today’s economy – globalization and technology. Our future is not in competing at the low-level wage job; it is in creating high-wage, new technology jobs based on our skills and our productivity.”