SAN DIEGO (KGTV) - Mayor Kevin Faulconer left San Diego for Washington, D.C., Tuesday morning for the 87th meeting of the U.S. Conference of Mayors (USCM).
In the nation’s capital, Faulconer will be leading a discussion on a new trade agreement reached last year between the U.S., Mexico and Canada. The new agreement, USMCA, replaces NAFTA.
On Wednesday, Faulconer is scheduled to join mayors from Canada and Mexico as co-chair of the Alliance on Trade in the Americas, which is a USCM board that works on strengthening cross-border commerce in North America, as well as economic ties.
10News spoke with Faulconer before he left for his flight at Lindbergh Field, and he said his mission while in D.C. is to urge Congress to give final approval to the new trade pact.
“Our message is very clear as mayors from U.S., Mexico and Canada, free trade is about good quality jobs, it's about our economy,” Faulconer said. “So I'm going to be delivering that message very strongly on behalf of San Diego to really have Congress get this across the finish line.”
Faulconer said more than 100,000 jobs in the San Diego region alone are dependent upon free trade.
“Free trade works, it’s incredibly important to our economy,” he said.
