The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) has largely been a positive deal for all sides but it’s time to update the agreement to accommodate the evolving financial sector, says Kenneth Bentsen Jr., president and CEO, U.S. Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association (SIFMA).
Speaking at the Canada-U.S. Securities Summit in New York on Wednesday, Bentsen Jr. said NATFA “has provided tremendous benefit” to the economies of the United States, Canada and Mexico, but it’s also a 25-year old deal that requires updating.
In particular, SIFMA believes “negotiators should look to update NAFTA to reflect the rise of the digital economy and the maturation of the financial services sector,” Bentsen Jr. said.
He also stressed that the renegotiation should also aim to avoid, “unnecessary disruption to our mutual economic well being.”
Bentsen Jr. highlighted the importance of the Canada-U.S. investment relationship. Based on the latest data, the U.S. is Canada’s largest direct foreign investor, and Canada ranks as the fourth-largest direct foreign investor in the U.S., he noted.
In terms of securities market activity, Bentsen Jr. said: “Canada had US$3.2 trillion of gross activity in U.S. securities with the U.S. in 2017, while the U.S. had US$1.7 trillion of gross activity of foreign securities from Canada. Also, Canada held $1.1 trillion of U.S. securities … as of June 2017, while the U.S. held $831 billion of securities from Canada as of December 2016.”
On the policy front, “we continue to encourage our respective policymakers and regulators to work together to ensure the capital markets remain a vibrant place for cross-border business between our two nations,” he said.
The summit is jointly hosted by SIFMA and the Investment Industry Association of Canada.
In particular, Bentsen Jr. said that SIFMA believes that, “negotiators should look to update NAFTA to reflect the rise of the digital economy and the maturation of the financial services sector.”
At the same time, he stressed that the renegotiation should also aim to avoid, “unnecessary disruption to our mutual economic well being.”
In his remarks, Bentsen Jr. highlighted the importance of the Canada-U.S. investment relationship; noting that, based on the latest data, the U.S. is Canada’s largest direct foreign investor, and Canada ranks as the fourth-largest direct foreign investor in the U.S.
In terms of securities in particular, he reported that, “Canada had US$3.2 trillion of gross activity in U.S. securities with the U.S. in 2017, while the U.S. had US$1.7 trillion of gross activity of foreign securities from Canada. Also, Canada held $1.1 trillion of U.S. securities… as of June 2017, while the U.S. held $831 billion of securities from Canada as of December 2016.”
On the policy front, he said, “we continue to encourage our respective policymakers and regulators to work together to ensure the capital markets remain a vibrant place for cross-border business between our two nations.”