Retailers Respond to Preliminary NAFTA Deal with Mexico
Thursday, August 30, 2018
The National Retail Federation (NRF) issued the following statement from president and CEO Matthew Shay after the United States and Mexico announced a preliminary deal on the North American Free Trade Agreement.
“Coming to terms with Mexico is an encouraging sign, 
but threatening to pull out of the existing agreement is not. NAFTA supports millions of U.S. jobs and provides hardworking American families access to more products at lower prices. To preserve these benefits and protect complex, sophisticated, and efficient supply chains, the administration must bring Canada, an essential trading partner, back to the bargaining table and deliver a trilateral deal.
We hope all parties will resolve their remaining differences, and we will assess any final agreement based on whether it promotes U.S. economic growth and continues to improve the lives of American workers and consumers.”
Earlier this year, an AT Kearney study prepared for the National Retail Federation and other retail associations found that without NAFTA, American retailers and consumers would face up to $16 billion a year in higher costs.
About NRF
The National Retail Federation is the world’s largest retail trade association. Based in Washington, D.C., NRF represents discount and department stores, home goods and specialty stores, Main Street merchants, grocers, wholesalers, chain restaurants and Internet retailers from the United States and more than 45 countries. Retail is the nation’s largest private-sector employer, supporting one in four U.S. jobs – 42 million working Americans. Contributing $2.6 trillion to annual GDP, retail is a daily barometer for the nation’s economy.
