An ad hoc coalition, who's membership includes the National Pork Producers Council, the Business Roundtable, the National Association of Manufacturers, the National Foreign Trade Council, the Coalition of Services Industries and the American Farm Bureau Federation, met last week with members of Congress to draw attention to the negative consequences for agriculture of withdrawal from the North American Free Trade Agreement.

NPPC Senior Communications Director Jim Monroe estimates the US pork industry will lose 1.5 billion dollars in exports to Mexico and Canada if NAFTA is terminated.

Jim Monroe-National Pork Producers Council

The National Pork Producers Council represents the interests of 60 thousand US pork producers.

These producers are highly dependent on trade.

Most of the growth that the industry expects to realize will come from outside US borders.

Mexico and Canada are second and fourth largest pork export markets.

We exported about two billion dollars of pork to Mexico and Canada last year.

Overall the US exported close to six billion dollars of pork so you can see how significant our exports to Canada and Mexico are so very very important.

It would have a severely negative impact on the US pork industry.

It would also hurt our economy in other ways.

The exports to Canada and Mexico are responsible for close to 16 thousand 300 jobs in the US.

That would jeopardize those jobs and I think that's just one example.

The US pork benefits realized through NAFTA are very similar to what US agriculture has realized overall through the agreement.

Mr Monroe says many jobs depend on US trade with Mexico and Canada, and significant growth throughout agriculture has resulted.