A coalition of small business groups wrote a letter this week calling on Democrats in Congress to approve President Trump’s trade deal to replace the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).
The letter, addressed to House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Richard Neal (D-Mass.), said that 84 percent of small business managers support passage of the the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) in its current form, citing a recent Morning Consult FedEx Trade Index poll.
“We could not agree more,” the groups wrote in the letter, which was sent on Thursday.
{mosads}They added, “Nearly three quarters of American small businesses expect that expanding their international trade opportunities would increase job growth. Passage of USMCA will bolster small business exports to Canada and Mexico, America’s top trading partners, increasing revenues and maintaining U.S. leadership as a global economic powerhouse.”
The letter was signed by the Asian/Pacific Islander American Chamber of Commerce and Entrepreneurship, Latino Coalition, National Small Business Association, Small Business and Entrepreneurship Council, Small Business Exporters Association and the U.S. Black Chambers Inc.
“NAFTA provided increased business opportunities to businesses both large and small, but USMCA is an even better trade deal for the 30.2 million small businesses that drive the American economy forward,” the groups wrote in the letter.
The administration and the Democratic-controlled House are negotiating on changes to USMCA in hopes of a vote before the end of the year.