email : Webview : RELEASE: U.S. Chamber, NAM, BRT and Farm Bureau Launch New Trade Campaign

Dallas, TX – Today, the American Farm Bureau Federation, Business Roundtable, National Association of Manufacturers and U.S. Chamber of Commerce joined together to announce the launch of Trade For America (TFA), a new campaign that will highlight the economic and strategic benefits of trade in the daily lives of Americans. TFA will also build support for modernizing trade agreements – including the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and the United States-Korea Free Trade Agreement (KORUS) – to promote even more economic growth opportunities for American businesses and workers.

To mark its launch, TFA is hosting an event today in Dallas, Texas featuring a keynote address from U.S. House Ways and Means Chairman Kevin Brady (R-Tex.).

“Trade is a critical part of the American economy, and TFA will be dedicated to promoting the modernization of current trade agreements and its benefits for American workers and families,” said Bill Lane, Executive Director of Trade For America. “Our companies and farms rely on trade agreements to fuel demand for their products abroad, and these trade agreements keep our farm, manufacturing and services sectors competitive in the global market.”

“NAFTA has opened markets for America's farmers and ranchers, and U.S. agricultural exports to Canada and Mexico have quadrupled under the agreement,” said Zippy Duvall, president of the American Farm Bureau Federation and a member of AFF's leadership committee. “The current negotiations should build on that success. Farm Bureau is pleased to work with TFA as well as Farmers for Free Trade and other collaborative efforts to engage farmers and leaders at the local, state and national levels and deliver that message to Congress and the President.”

“With more than 41 million Americans already dependent on trade, we look forward to working with TFA to communicate the benefits of trade agreements to constituencies across the country,” said Joshua Bolten, President & CEO of Business Roundtable. “We believe that even more opportunities can be created through expanded trade, improvements in existing agreements and the negotiation of new agreements.”

“The future of modern manufacturing and the livelihoods of millions of Americans depend on our ability to sell our products to customers overseas—and to have strong trading partnerships with existing trade agreement partners and many other countries,” said Jay Timmons, President & CEO of the National Association of Manufacturers. “The jobs of more than two million men and women are supported by the export of U.S.-manufactured goods to Canada and Mexico, while the U.S.-Korea economic partnership supports the jobs of hundreds of thousands more manufacturing workers. We are committed to not only building upon existing outcomes that are so vital to manufacturing’s success in America, but also to doing what we can to make them even better.”

“We’ve said it before, and it’s worth saying again: If the U.S. isn’t leading on trade, we’re falling behind,” said Thomas J. Donohue, president and CEO of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. “Now that America’s economy is back on the upswing, we should recommit to the policies that got us here, including smart trade policy. That means strengthening our trading partnerships – not weakening them – so we keep pace in the global competition to sell to the 95 percent of the world’s population that lives outside the U.S. We’re proud to join together with our partners in the business, manufacturing, and agriculture communities in a vigorous, ever-active effort to support the jobs and growth that trade brings to our economy.”

Today’s TFA event will be livestreamed here.