With 95 percent of the world’s consumers outside of the United States, international trade is integral to New England’s economic wellbeing and growth.
Since 2019, our region has exported more than $300 billion dollars worth of goods to the world, and well over 200,000 jobs in New England are supported by exports. As such, The New England Council has a long history of support for free trade and expanded access to foreign markets for New England businesses.
The New England Council’s cross-sector Trade Working Group provides a forum for NEC members across various industries that have an interest in expanded free trade and increased access to foreign markets to share information and work collaboratively toward shared goals and interests. In recent years, the Council has been a powerful voice on Capitol Hill and successive Administrations in advocating for job-creating free trade agreements – such as the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) – and pro-growth treatment of imports and exports to and from our region.
The Trade Working Group is chaired by Christopher Melly, Vice President of Government Affairs at AIG.
The NEC staff liaison to the Working Group is Peter Phipps.