U.S. and Canadian business groups are urging officials to keep the North America Free Trade Agreement a trilateral U.S.-Canada-Mexico pact, The Hill reported.
Four groups argued maintaining the structure of the 24-year-old deal is "paramount to combatting discriminatory trade practices by competitors such as China," The Hill reported.
In a joint statement, the National Association of Manufacturers and the Canadian Manufacturers & Exporters pointed out trade between the United States and Canada is vital to jobs and the economies of both countries.
"There is an unprecedented volume of goods flowing between the three countries and significant integration of operations, which makes a trilateral agreement an imperative," NAM's President and CEO Jay Timmons and CME's President and CEO Dennis Darby declared, The Hill reported.
"Because of our two countries' nearly $700 billion trading relationship, our economies are inextricably linked, and our manufacturing workers depend on a strong deal that keeps us all growing and prospering for generations to come."
And Business Roundtable and the Business Council of Canada called on the governments to "build upon the many benefits of NAFTA with a commitment to preserving the agreement's trilateral structure."
"Forfeiting this three-nation partnership would destabilize North American supply chains, jeopardize jobs and undermine economic growth," the groups said in their own statement.
Canadian Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland met several times Thursday with U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer, with the pair working to sign off on key aspects of an updated NAFTA deal.
The United States and Mexico have announced a preliminary settlement of their differences last week.
AP contributed to this report.
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