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.