[CTC] Business Roundtable CEOs meet with Trump, back NAFTA 2.0

[Arthur Stamoulis]

Business Roundtable CEOs meet with Trump, back USMCA
 
Inside US Trade
03/21/2019

Business Roundtable CEOs came out in favor of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement after meeting with President Trump on Thursday, urging Congress to pass the deal this year.
The influential business group held its quarterly CEO meeting, which Trump attended, in Washington, DC.

Tom Linebarger, the chairman and CEO of Cummins Inc. and the chair of the Business Roundtable Trade & International Committee, said the CEOs of the organization, “who lead companies with more than 15 million employees, strongly support congressional passage of USMCA implementing legislation this year. We stand united to preserve and modernize North American trade, which supports over 12 million jobs and a strong U.S. economy.”

“Business Roundtable supports following the Trade Promotion Authority process and will work closely with Democrats and Republicans in Congress and the Administration to build the necessary support to pass a USMCA bill that will sustain free trade in North America and open new markets for U.S. businesses and farmers,” his statement added.

Trump participated in a “conversation” at the quarterly meeting before 80 to 100 CEOs, the White House said via a press pool report. U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer was there, as were several other top administration officials including National Economic Council Director Larry Kudlow and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin.

Josh Bolten, the president and CEO of Business Roundtable; Jamie Dimon, the group's chairman and the chairman and CEO of JP Morgan Chase; and Home Depot CEO Craig Menear also participated, according to the White House.

Earlier this week Bolten said the trade panel would discuss U.S.-China trade talks with Lighthizer ahead of the USTR's visit to Beijing next week. Mnuchin is also slated to travel to China. Bolten said the CEOs were “cautiously optimistic <https://insidetrade.com/node/166092>” Washington and Beijing would reach a deal addressing at least some of the structural issues that U.S. business groups have raised with the administration.

“BRT CEOs support a very vigorous approach to the Chinese on the structural reforms that includes intellectual property protection, forced technology transfer, investment restrictions, discriminatory regulations against foreign companies, high tariffs and so on,” he told reporters on March 20. “So, there is a big agenda for the U.S. government to take on with the Chinese government in these trade negotiations. And yes, we are hopeful that an agreement can and will be reached that at least addresses part of those problems.”


Arthur Stamoulis
Citizens Trade Campaign
(202) 494-8826




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