Prince George, B.C. – The first round of  negotiations  to possibly  change the North American Free Trade Agreement, (NAFTA)  is set to start  one week from today.The BC  Provincial Government is calling for input  from stakeholders on issues  they would like to see addressed during the talks between Canada, the U.S. and Mexico..

Stakeholders and interested individuals are being invited to submit their input to the B.C. Government’s Call for Submissions webpage, which will remain open throughout the negotiations.

It has been  23 years since the  three countries signed the NAFTA agreement,  and  while  the U.S. remains Canada’s largest  trading partner  having exported  more than $21 billion  dollars  in  goods  to the States,  B.C. has  made progress in diversifying  its  export markets.   Last year, 54% of  goods produced in this province were exported to the U.S.  that’s down  from the 61%  exported   in 2006.