Paola Avila, vice president of International Business Affairs at the San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce, testified on the importance of preserving and modernizing NAFTA at a field hearing on Monday in San Antonio, Texas.

U.S. Senator John Cornyn from Texas led the Congressional hearing of the U.S. Senate Committee on Finance’s International Trade, Customs, and Global Competitiveness Subcommittee inside the Marriott Plaza.

Avila’s testimony focused on the importance of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) to the U.S. economy and the negative consequences that would likely result if the renegotiations underway with Canada and Mexico collapse.

Avila said that her testimony helped because it gave real facts about the impact of NAFTA to the U.S. economy directly to U.S. Senator Cornyn, who is expected to later share the information directly to President Donald Trump.

“With White House threats to dismantle NAFTA continuing, it is incumbent upon trade advocates who recognize the damage that an exit from the agreement would inflict on the U.S. economy to speak out and make a forceful case for NAFTA’s preservation and modernization,” Avila said. “This opportunity was to remind senators that our three nations’ supply chains are deeply integrated, which has created a highly efficient, just-in-time manufacturing environment that has resulted in an enhanced quality of life throughout the region and that is responsible 14 million jobs in the U.S. alone. Dismantling the agreement would make the administration’s stated goal of achieving 3 percent annual economic growth a near impossibility.”

Avila’s testimony was also in behalf of the Border Trade Alliance since she was elected as chair of this organization earlier this month.

Since 1986, the Border Trade Alliance has served as a grassroots, non-profit organization that provides a forum for discussion and advocacy on issues pertaining to the environment, border development, quality of life and trade in the Americas.

A network of public and private sector representatives from the United States, Mexico and Canada, Border Trade Alliance’s core values include a commitment to improving the quality of life of border communities through trade and commerce.

The renegotiations for NAFTA are still underway, and they are expected to continue through next year.