Today, U.S. Congressman Scott Peters (CA-52) issued the following statement on the report that President Trump is readying an executive order to begin the process of withdrawing the United States from the North American Free Trade Agreement:

“President Trump’s plan to pull the United States out of NAFTA would rip the rug out from underneath our economy and devastate small business owners, workers, and families in San Diego and across the country. It would create new barriers that make it harder to sell American-made products and crops to our two largest customers. And it would raise the prices that working families pay for everything from cars to groceries.

“All but ten states in the U.S. count on Mexico or Canada as their largest export markets. In San Diego, they are our two top customers, with $5.5 billion in annual exports to Mexico alone. San Diego’s economy has benefitted greatly from being a center for international trade and it has made our binational region a more attractive place to start a business and manufacture products. Pulling out of NAFTA could hurt this ecosystem and the 120,000 San Diegans whose jobs depend on trade.

“NAFTA isn’t perfect. It makes sense to prioritize raising enforceable environmental and labor standards through trade agreements to further level the playing field for American workers. That is a much more sensible path than scrapping the deal altogether, and one that I hope President Trump pursues.

“I strongly urge President Trump to not cede America’s leadership, but rather work with both parties to renegotiate NAFTA to create more jobs for American workers in our increasingly competitive and changing economy.”