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Renegotiating NAFTA - Will railroads be hurt or helped?


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#11 CNJRoss

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Posted 24 January 2018 - 08:42 AM

AAR news release:

U.S. Freight Rail Industry Partners With Canadian and Mexico Counterparts to Urge Successful NAFTA 2.0 Negotiations

 

Open Letter to Policymakers Signed by Association of American Railroads, Railway Association of Canada and Asociación Mexicana de Ferrocarriles Delivered Amid Penultimate Negotiating Round

 

 

WASHINGTON, D.C. – January 22, 2018 – In an effort to communicate the vast benefits that the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) has provided for the Canadian, Mexican and United States economies, and the critical need to maintain free trade on the continent, leaders of the trade associations representing freight rail companies in each nation issued a rare joint letter to negotiators calling for constructive negotiations and the preservation of successful elements currently in place.

 

“Economic growth tied to NAFTA has allowed railways to invest tens of billions of dollars into their infrastructure while improving productivity and customer service, and fostering innovation," states the letter, signed by Edward R. Hamberger, Association of American Railroads, Gérald Gauthier, Railway Association of Canada and Dr. Iker de Luisa Plazas, Asociación Mexicana de Ferrocarriles. “Collectively, these improvements have enabled railways to maintain the low rates that are required to provide shippers with access to global supply chains and support their success."

 

The organizations stressed the integrated nature of today's global economy and the need for a continental railroad network in providing access to markets and the most affordable products to businesses and consumers in each nation.

 

“We are thrilled to work with our peers in Canada and Mexico to send a simple message: we must not exit NAFTA in the admirable pursuit of modernizing the agreement," said AAR's Hamberger. “Our members serve customers that touch nearly every sector of the global economy and do so through a complex supply chain spearheaded by railroads. This cannot be upended overnight, so we are hopeful that representatives can forge a deal that continues to improve economic outcomes across all countries and North America as a whole."

 

Read the full letter here.

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#12 CNJRoss

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Posted 14 February 2018 - 12:18 AM

Progressive Railroading, February 2018:
 

Rail leaders speak out: Don’t pull the plug on NAFTA

 

 

Class I and freight-rail industry executives are continuing to raise concerns about the economic turmoil that would occur if renegotiations over the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) break down and President Trump follows through on his threat to pull the U.S. out of the trade deal if he doesn’t like the final results.

In Class I fourth-quarter remarks, op-ed columns and letters to the administration, rail-industry leaders are highlighting NAFTA 's impact on the North American economy — and more specifically — the business of railroading.

Chief executives of CN, Kansas City Southern and Union Pacific Corp. told analysts during fourth-quarter 2017 earnings conference calls last month that they're paying close attention to the status of the current renegotiations. While they agree that the 24-year-old trade deal needs to be updated, they’ve said scrapping it would cause great economic harm to their industry, as well as to the overall economy.

According to the Association of American Railroads (AAR), 42 percent of rail carloads and intermodal units and 35 percent of annual rail revenue are directly associated with international trade. Moreover, 50,000 rail jobs worth more than $5.5 billion in annual wages and benefits depend on international trade.

In a January letter to policymakers, AAR and freight-rail trade associations in Canada and Mexico called for "constructive negotiations" on a new version of NAFTA and stressed the importance of trade and the need for a continental railroad network to provide businesses with access to economic markets.

 

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#13 CNJRoss

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Posted 18 July 2018 - 07:01 AM

St. Louis (MO) Post-Dispatch, 7/12/18:

Union Pacific CEO says NAFTA withdrawal would be 'disastrous' to economy

 

 

WASHINGTON • In a sharp critique of Trump administration trade policies, the president and CEO of the Union Pacific Railroad said Thursday that withdrawal from the North American Free Trade Agreement would have a “disastrous” impact on the economy, and that President Trump's trade war with allies diverts the U.S. from a more pressing trade imbalance with China.

 

Lance Fritz said at a National Press Club luncheon that new tariffs on steel have driven up the cost of a new mile of railroad track from $3 million to  $3.75 million, and that tariff-caused uncertainty at U.S. ports is leaving ships sitting in docks, unloaded, for weeks at a time.

 

He said he is worried that a withdrawal from NAFTA after ongoing negotiations between the U.S. and Canada and Mexico would be an unnecessary shock to an economy that is booming from other Trump administration policies on taxes and trade.

 

 



#14 CNJRoss

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Posted 22 September 2018 - 07:39 PM

Barron's, 8/31/18:
 

A Railroad You’ll Want to Ride

 

 

With or without a “big, beautiful wall” between the U.S. and Mexico,trains pulling cars full of corn, plastic, and auto parts will still rumble south of the border and return full of cars and electronics. One company that controls the tracks, Kansas City Southern, is bound to profit from all of that activity, and its stock should benefit.

 

Kansas City Southern <http://barrons.com/q...te/KSU>(ticker:KSU) can thank President Donald Trump, whose heated rhetoric about Mexico mellowed on Monday as he announced a new trade agreement. The Trump trade deal is still short on specifics and, if Canada is not part of it, may not be approved by Congress. But the pact at least signals that the U.S. trade relationship with Mexico will not change drastically.

 

“I’m pleased we’re at this point of making friends with Mexico again,” the railroad’s CEO, Patrick Ottensmeyer, tells Barron’s. “We have been living under the dark cloud of uncertainty for the past year and a half.”  .  .  .

 

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#15 CNJRoss

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Posted 01 October 2018 - 09:38 PM

AAR news release 10/1/18:

 
AAR Statement on USMCA

 

Washington, D.C. – October 1, 2018 – Edward R. Hamberger, President and CEO of the Association of American Railroads (AAR), issued the following statement on the trade agreement struck between Canada, Mexico and the United States:

 

“The private freight railroad industry is pleased that negotiators from Canada, Mexico and the United States have reached an agreement to preserve free trade between our nations. The free flow of goods across North America without burdensome tariffs is a net positive for U.S. workers, bedrock industries and the economy. Our industry knows this firsthand due to the massive amounts of goods we move – such as automobiles, agricultural yields and energy products – as part of a sophisticated supply chain that was shaped in large part by free trade. We encourage Congress to address this new agreement in a very deliberate yet urgent manner to provide much-needed certainty for commerce across this continent.”

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#16 CNJRoss

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Posted 01 December 2018 - 04:39 PM

AAR news release:

 
AAR Statement on USMCA Signing

 

 

Washington, D.C. – November 30, 2018 – Edward R. Hamberger, President and CEO of the Association of American Railroads (AAR), issued the following statement on today’s signing of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA):

 

“The private freight railroad industry congratulates leaders from Canada, Mexico and the United States for signing the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) today, an important step in preserving free trade across North America. The seamless movement of goods between our nations – via private railroads, as well as trucks – makes our economies stronger and more competitive. The U.S. Congress should work to quickly ratify the modernized accord to provide market certainty and stimulate further investment in industry and workers.”

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