Chamber hears from economist Chris Thornberg and Congressman Gomez on global issues affecting the L.A. region

by Center for Global Trade & Foreign Investment

This week, Dr. Chris Thornberg, founder of Beacon Economics LLC, provided members of the Chamber’s Global Initiatives Council with a candid and optimistic outlook on global trade and the region's economic health. While Thornberg mitigated speculation of an upcoming recession and major trade downturn, he stressed the need to ratify the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) as quickly as possible in order to maintain the export revenue and growth with two of the state’s largest trading partners. Three out of four California manufacturing firms export to Canada and Mexico, which purchase about one-quarter of our state’s manufacturing exports and about $44 billion worth of goods, from information and communications equipment and food products to automotive parts and textiles and apparel.

Congressman Jimmy Gomez, representing California's 34th Congressional District, joined the discussion to provide an update on the efforts of the House Democrats' working group to review the agreement. Gomez also shared takeaways from a fact-gathering trip to Mexico in late July. The eight-member working group sent revised text for the agreement to the U.S. Trade Representative’s office and is awaiting a response, while continuing to work on a draft on implementation procedures of the bill. VIEW THE PRESENTATION. SEE THE PHOTOS.