After a week of confusion surrounding the Trump administration's stance on the North American Free Trade Agreement, two of Arizona’s top lawmakers are weighing in.
There’s bipartisan agreement that changes in the trade pact would have a negative impact here.
“It’s our biggest trading partner, Mexico. We export more than we import,” said Democratic Congressman Raul Grijalva this week. He was speaking strongly against any adjustments to NAFTA.
Meanwhile, in a speech on the Senate floor, Republican U.S. Sen. Jeff Flake said he believes the two-decades free trade agreement has been a $20 billion boon to Arizona and agrees it shouldn’t be tampered with.
“Any efforts to impose new restrictions on our ability to trade with Mexico and Canada will have serious consequences for Arizona, leading to jobs being lost and higher costs for consumers," he said.
Flake feels the state’s agriculture industry could stand to lose the most if NAFTA is changed. He added that President Trump didn’t understand the agreement’s positive economic impacts.
