North American Oil & Natural Gas Industry Positions on NAFTA

August 3, 2017

The American  Petroleum  Institute  (API), Asociación  Méxicana  de  Empresas  de  Hidroc arburos (AMEXHI), and Canadian  Association  of  Petroleum  Producers  (CAPP)work  on  behalf  of our international oil and gas member companies to enhance the opportunities for oil and natural gas production and manufacturing and improve the competitiveness of the industry in North America and  in  the  worldwide  economy.  The 750+  member  companies  of  AMEXHI,  CAPP  and  API support  free  trade  and the North  American  Free  Trade  Agreement  (NAFTA)  that  removes barriers,  promotes  market-oriented  policies and  creates  opportunities  for  commercial  growth and job creation.

Introduction
NAFTA is a Success Story for Energy in North America.
The  North  American  energy  industry  has  undergone  dramatic  changes  since  NAFTA  entered into force 23 years ago. The US has experienced a surge in resource production, making it the world’s leading producer of oil and natural gas. Mexico has opened its energy sector to foreign and domestic private investment  for  the  first  time  in  over  seventy-five  years.  In  Canada, investment  and  innovation  in  oil sands,  liquefied  natural  gas  (LNG)  and  energy  infrastructure
projects  has  led  that  country  to  become  a  top  five  producer  of  energy.

To  preserve  these achievements and further advance the competitiveness of the North American energy industry, we urge NAFTA negotiators to keep the following joint principles in mind.

NAFTA  Works.
NAFTA  is a success  story for  energy integration in  Mexico, the  United States and Canada. Since its inception in 1994,  NAFTA  has  facilitated the greater flow of oil, natural gas and derived products to and from all three countries. As a result, today the US, Canada and Mexico together are a unique global energy center. As soon as 2020, North America will achieve  energy  self-sufficiency, when measured by production of liquid fuels exceeding consumption of the same across Mexico, the US and Canada. The integrated and interdependent North American market that NAFTA helped create makes energy more affordable  in Mexico, the US and Canada and reduces all three countries’ reliance on energy supply from other regions.

Do No Harm.
Renegotiating NAFTA creates risks. NAFTA is over 23 years old and, while there is an opportunity to update the agreement in some areas, any changes that disrupt energy trade across our North American borders, reduces investment protection, or reverts to high tariffs and trade barriers that preceded NAFTA, could put at risk the tens of millions of jobs that depend...

Read entire letter here.

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