Prince George, B.C. –  Negotiations get underway to  revamp  the North American Free Trade Agreement,   some small  businesses are  concerned about  what may happen.

A survey by the Canadian Federation of Independent Business  shows 28% of those surveyed who  trade with the U.S.  and/or Mexico,   say the  regnegotiation of NAFTA will alter their export and import  plans.

“There is a real concern, among our membership, that any changes to NAFTA could have significant effects on their ability to sell  goods and  services abroad, on their cost of  importing goods, and on their ability to pass savings on to consumers” says  CFIB’s senior vice president of National Affairs, Corinne Pohlmann.

The CFIB  says small and medium sized businesses in Canada have a major stake in the talks,  as  their data  indicates  more than 90% of the businesses in Canada that  export, are considered small  business.

The CFIB has mad a number of recommendations to  Canada’s negotiators, including:

• working to improve the movement  of trucks across the border

• ensure the free flow of labour continues  and is improved
• simplify  rules  towards reducing the red tape
• the current range of goods  considered duty free  remain or be expanded.