published by public affairs, c- span's the presidents will be on shelves april 23, but you can preorder your copy as a hardcover or e-book today. at cspan.org/the presidents. or ever -- wherever books are sold. a meeting of the national governors association in washington, a panel, including white house economic advisor, larry kudlow, discussed the trade agreement with mexico and canada, and also modernizing communications and infrastructure, this is three hours. good morning, welcome back to the second day of the winter meeting. we are here, we are starting today's program with a timely topic, and that is trade, with the new u.s.-mexico-canada agreement, known as the usmca,

many governors, and our counterparts in mexico and canada, are eager to learn about the next steps, and how we can potentially deepen trade in relationships under the new agreement. to this end, i have the great pleasure of moderating the panel with three representatives , one from each of the countries cut to gain their insights on the new framework, for commerce on our continent. we will hear from the federal government first, we are thrilled to have the honorable larry kudlow, assistant to the president, director of the national economic council, to share the administrations perspective on not only usmca, but also international and economic agenda widely. before joining the trumpet ministration, he was a director for economics and planning in the reagan administration, served as chief economist for

bear stearns and company, and with the national review and cnbc, he leads the coordination of president trump's domestic and global policy agenda, and here to discuss the usmca, but stands ready to answer questions about trade negotiations with china, trade policy generally, including the use of tariffs, and indeed, talking to him in the back, he said if anybody wants to push back on anything he says, or raise any other issue, please do so. when you think of this long and distinguished career, probably the most important and impressive part of his past was he was married in whitefish, montana. please welcome to stage larry kudlow. >> [ applause ] >> exactly right. hi everybody, thanks very much,

it is quite true, i know i don't really look it, but my wife and ken were from montana, whitefish, my marriage license, , we don't want anything, i want to take a few moments if you will, and walk-through and outline president trump's trade policy thinking. then of course i want to mention the usmca, which we will discuss, and i won't talk china at the beginning, but any questions you have on china, i would be happy to try to answer. as the negotiations continue. let me begin with this thought, the presidents view on trade, free, fair and reciprocal. free, fair and reciprocal.

many of his critics, some including my conservative friends, have argued that he is a protectionist, i don't believe that to be the case, it is true i am the free trader in the building, but he and i have had long talks with this, i will call it free-trade and reciprocal, let me put this to you, just before the g7 last spring, and canada, which i collaborated with, with president trump, his goal ultimately down the road is zero tariffs, zero nontariff barriers, and 0 subsidies, that is the long-range goal. and it is a goal to which i absolutely subscribe. that would give us maximum freedom, it would reward competitiveness, it would unleash america's export sales,

we have a very strong economy, i'm very proud of that, we are the hottest economy, the most competitive, in the recent readings of international organizations have put us at the number 1 spot, open your doors, you know, take down your barriers, give us a chance. that is why i say the three zeros, we won't get there, certainly not overnight, but it is a useful goal, and we are making progress, and regarding the issue of tariffs, which i know is more controversial, i will say this, president trump has taught me, i'm the free trader as i said, tariffs are a negotiating tool, they are part of his quiver, and in particular, i want to note on china for example, where we have been the toughest, absolutely, no president, republican or democrat, in

recent decades, has stayed on china's case the way we have, and frankly, using tariffs to do so, to bring them to the negotiating table. democrats republicans, i'm not making a partisan statement, it can be used as a negotiating tool, and i think it has. the key point really is breaking down barriers, and giving americans, i am here as a u.s. economic assistant, give our people, give our farmers, ranchers, autoworkers, manufacturers, give our new economy, intellectual property rights, protection, digital protection, financial services protection, give us an opportunity to show you how good we are. and please take down your barriers, that is our basic

point of view. america first is a trump phrase, trump argues for an absolutely, but he argues that america first does not believe or mean that it is america alone. america first can coexist, we are not just america alone, and in fact, i will note, right now, we have put together an excellent trade deal in my opinion, and my colleagues, the ministers from canada and mexico will be here in a moment, the usmca is a strong deal, negotiating heavy with china, negotiating heavily with europe, with japan, and we have completed a very good trade injury -- trade agreement with south korea. i have emphasized america first, but not america alone,

we are engaged globally, open for business globally, engaged globally, and let me make one final point on the general policy. our intent is always been to create trade deals in america's interests, old economy, new economy, all the various sectors of the economy, in a bipartisan way. you may not agree, and you may wish to push back, i appreciate that, i look forward to the questions, and so forth, but we believe that bilateral trade negotiating, bilateral trade and goading -- negotiating, is bilateral, we don't want a lowest common denominator with adjudication processes that don't favor the u.s., and we do so because we want to help every sector of the economy.

hence, the notion that we are bipartisan. i think as we get into it with my colleagues on the panel, you will see how much we have tried to have a bipartisan deal. usmca, just a? review, the way we calculated, the usa will bring $62 billion in new auto investment in the united states, and we would generate roughly 80,000-100,000 new jobs, those are numbers, you may disagree with that, the respect that, and we are negotiating with auto manufacturers, who not only expect to come in and accommodate the new ground

rules for usmca, but do more, we are proud of that, north american content, 75%, 40%-45% of auto content will be made by workers earning $60 per hour. those are record numbers by far. -- $16 per hour. union activity, collective bargaining, particularly in the south of mexico, we made new ground, broke new ground in every area to promote collective bargaining and promote their rights, and to hold the mexican government to international labor standards as well as international environmental standards. we have opened up the dairy farming the, digital services, financial services, the strongest protections written into this for intellectual

property, which is to say innovation and inventiveness, and creativity for all of us, for all of us. that is the great strength of the american economy, innovation. creativity, that is what makes us great. the ip stuff, copyrights, -- i.t. stuff, biological, pharmaceutical, the whole 9 yards, we think it will increase productivity for all three countries. energy has been protected with respect to various investment decisions, and the review process, we compromised heavily, a six-year review every six years, and a 16 year on the whole project. so i am proud of that, bob could make it this morning, my

colleague, i think he has written a template for new trade deals across the board, and i really do want to know, one key point, i don't want to lose this, one reason president trump once bilateral deals rather than these large multilateral deals, he believes the bilateral deals are much better for american interests. and hence, bipartisanship. multilateral deals, the history is not good, the flexibility is low, the lowest common denominator. and i think this idea of bipartisanship, or at least i hope it will take hold in this congress, as we try to get it passed as soon as possible. the final point, i will see proudly, we are growing at 3% right now, in real terms after inflation for the past year, many of my friends on the other

side of the aisle thought it could be done, i'm always in a great position, i was a former democrat, i worked with two presidents, ronald reagan, and donald trump, i've always come to believe that the best republicans are former democrats , that was a joke, with a little bit of truth to it. growing at 3%, i believe our policies of low tax rates for individuals and businesses is working, the policy of deregulation is working, and trade reform are working. i understand there is disagreement, i had so many distinguished democratic economists on my tv and radio shows down through the years, i can never get angry at them, i tried to bring them over to my side, they are all pals of

mine, but the numbers look good for us at the moment, and if it is not to, i will have to toe the line later on, i get that, but we will stay with our policies, low taxes, regulations, trader form, and i would just conclude, unemployment rates are low, african american, latino, women, the labor force is rising, the biggest rocketship within all of those numbers is the re- entrance of women, and people from the unemployment ranks are moving into the employment ranks, wage rates are rising after inflation, we are proud of that, unlimited potential, my former boss, president reagan, used to say the best is yet to come, my current boss has the exact same sentiment, and has expressed it, i am a believer in free enterprise capitalism, not socialism,

every night on my tv show, i would begin by saying free- market capitalism is the best bet to prosperity, and i believe in global cooperated -- cooperation, so does our demonstration, i believe america is open for business, and i will say to you, as assistant for economic policy, and head of the national economic council for both parties, i say to you, genuinely, for both parties, tell me what you're thinking, tell me where we can be helpful, where you would like us to change, i think this is the greatest country on the earth, and it will remain so, it is my great hope that we will work together to realize our greatest potential. thank you. >> [ applause ]

ladies and gentlemen, please welcome our panelists. >> thank you. >> thank you for that, i appreciate it. >> thank you larry kudlow, for the update. i have the pleasure of introducing the distinguished guest from mexico and canada, from the mexican federal government, we will come the test we welcome the deputy minister for foreign affairs, and renegotiating nafta the -- nafta, then spending time with the deputy minister, and canada's minister of transport.

it must be the -- amazing to be the minister of transport, but not everybody can say they were also a astronaut and a former military officer, thank you for traveling today, we look forward to your insights on the new agreement, and i will first turn to the deputy minister, with the new -- new administration in mexico, we would like to hear about the agreement what you think, and what you are thinking about? >> i will go straight to the point, i would like to make my remarks in one opening, and 3 very short acts, the opening is to express my admiration for this fantastic conference, the governors of the united states of america, they put place over you, to think it's chairman for the invitation, it's an honor to be with you. the first act, i would like to develop something that larry

kudlow alluded to, the world is really moving increasingly to trading blocks, the technology, it's cheaper to transport, information is free around the world, policies are more open in many places, the result is, we have a hyper integrated europe, which is a friend in every way, but it is a separate kind of trading entity, with 27 countries, increasingly integrated, despite anxieties about brexit, and the countries around them, and then you have china, it has become richer and richer, in the last 40 years, the last 10-15 years in particular, and it has lost some edge, but offsetting that, but investing massively, in

neighboring countries like vietnam, bangladesh, thailand, all the region, including the more advanced economies like japan or korea. and they together have become the largest economy in the world, what about north america? north america has to keep up and preserve its leadership, the number 1 economy in the world, the most advanced and dynamic, but always in a need to reinvent itself. and nafta, for 25 years, integrated the economy, the edge, efficiency, but serious difficulties, and this is now addressed with the usmca. asked to, what is it bringing? at 1 1/2, massive updating, developing rules where we did not have rules, for example, physical trade or labor, but asked to, the main thing i

really want to stress is that consistent with president trump's vision, the new negotiations, the new agreement, makes it more demanding to bring trade into the production chain. the so-called rules of origin, become more difficult, more difficult to bring parts from germany or japan into the production of your bmw or toyota in the region, instead of that, the incentives are created for them to invest, that is what i was talking about the vision of president trump, bringing investment, every reason to come in a much more noticeable way, into north america. instead of being able to bring from germany or korea, 38% of the cost of your car, you can only bring 25%, and not even concentrating any block like the engine, everything has to

be manufactured here, 75%, avenue -- of which, 40% has to be high wages, so the incentive is created for mexican companies also to get their act together, labor standards, and payments and all that, it is the pro-investment regime. trade, a good investment, investment, that will help preserve the region, even now, car parts cross borders, eight times, to achieve great efficiency, we have to perfect that, development, so we have an efficient region, of course

the u.s. is the most formidable engine for growth in the region, but canada and mexico bring a lot to it, mexico in particular, a young population, efficient conditions for certain activities, a growing market, the same with canada, the same with united states. finally, the third act, the world is being more more integrated, things that used to not to be part of the trade rules, like labor standards, the discussion and nafta, the democratic party won when the negotiations were, they were completed, and bring in labor standards and environment standards, the notion -- negotiations had been completed, a side issue, a side agreement, now they are central parts of the new agreement. labor standards, environment standards, anticorruption chapter, a whole range of

mechanisms, what you need to support, and we support, small and medium enterprises, not subsidizing, but helping the efficiency, sharing the strong social agenda, for future trade activities, increased efficiencies through integrated investment, and a strong social agenda, for canada, and mexico, thank you. >> i very much appreciate you being here. >> before diving into the questions, we are excited to hear from the ministers perspective on both the agreement, and what governors ought to be thinking about along the way. >> take you very much, i must say, it is a real honor to be able to address this form -- this forum of governors.

let me start with my strong association with united states, i did live for nine years in houston, texas, had the honor of being part of the astronaut program, flew on challenger and twice on endeavor, and i have two children who have u.s. passports, and many relatives who are american citizens, in my earlier career in the navy, i worked alongside the u.s. navy and nato operations, i have a long association with united states, and care deeply about the relationship, and i am not different from most canadians. we are here to talk about usmca, but we call it cusma, hard negotiating, we in our program -- our perception came up with what we feel to be a

good deal, we signed it last fall, i believe that the united states feels the same way about it, president trump has said this is a extremely good deal for the united states, the usmca, and to quote mr. kudlow, the president did say one point that as far as he was concerned, imposing tariffs on steele and aluminum was part of the negotiating process, but he also said that once we achieved a deal that was good for the united states, and he has said that, that those terrorists would be removed, so in our situation here in canada, we can begin the ratification process on usmca cup as of 19 march, and we want to go ahead and do it, because this is very good for both of our countries, canada and the united states have the largest trade in the world between two countries, over $680 billion in 2017, and

for 35 of the 50 states, canada is the number 1 export destination of the products that are made in those 35 states, and in many other cases, the second most important destination. we want to ratify the usmca, but we have a serious challenge in canada. it is not the fact that we have an election year this year, which we do, and which will cause us to move towards other priorities in the coming months, it is the fact that those tariffs on steele and aluminum are still in place, and those tariffs affect not only canadian workers in industry, they also affect u.s. workers in industry, there is plenty of evidence to support that, at this point those tariffs sorry unnecessary text -- tax which

is weighing down both countries. i would be remiss if i didn't say that this will present us with real challenges as we begin the process of ratification in canada. i don't know if we are going to get there. we would very much, and i am making a plea here to the governors, a plea here, that you bring up with the president of the united states the fact that these tariffs are a serious impediment to us moving forward on what is the best trade deal in the world, we all agree with that, usmca is extremely important, to our countries, ushering in a long period of stability, investment, as the under secretary said, but we need to move away from these tariffs, which were invoked under national security reasons, which is frankly illogical, united states have -- has $2

billion of surplus in steele with canada, we buy more steal from you than any other country, and all other countries combined, when we are talking about what you export in steele. in terms of aluminum, yes, we do so you more aluminum, but the united states has a need for 5 million metric tons per year for its own requirements and you only produced 2 million tons, canada is one of the countries that would like to continue exporting its aluminum without tears. we are fortunate that we can produce aluminum, we have lots of energy in our country, it is a more challenging situation here, what i'm saying is this, we do not at this point, now that we have secured a good deal, on usmca, we need -- do not need those tariffs in place.

>> thank you to the minister. >> thank you.>> [ applause ] >> we are hard at work to try to solve that problem. >> thank you. >> i will open it up to you to ask questions, but i would say that some of said, much ado about nothing, essentially just cosmetic changes to nafta, is that a fair criticism, if it is not, what are the most significant differences that both governors and people in all three countries should understand it highlight? >> let me give my thoughts on that, i mentioned briefly, but there was a massive updating, as good as the mechanisms to

solve the problems, and the disputes in the system, was really kind of out of date, lots of ambiguities, and imprecision, that were updated, rules created for a lot of situations, and as i said, the investment part is very important, a investment treaty, and perhaps third and most, is the social agenda, creating rules for labor, and environment, for a lot of areas, it is a deep integration, we are in this together, as individual economies. so without turning over the nafta, with some of the fundamental free-trade revisions, but creating and changing the rules and many important ways. >> i think the minister made a

very important point. in the past, including the original nafta, i was around, i served in the reagan administration when he moved towards the u.s. and canadian agreement, that was the beginning of a, i was 13 years old at the time. [ laughter ] >> very clever. >> sitting in r&d. >> our leaders were very close, they both shared the vision, and i will give much credit, i will say this, subsequently, the clinton administration, who brought in the mexican side, amidst much criticism, and politics, did a great job. in my view. praising a democrat, i think, correct me if i'm wrong, it was vice president al gore, who

kind of kicked ross perot's butt on the larry king show. >> i missed that one. >> i've been around so long, but anyway, that's another point, the point about investment, we had a currency provision, protection of intellectual property rights, we've never had that before, digital, financial services, we managed to come to an agreement on agriculture and dairy farming, her things to do, looking at the side-by-side, yes, it is better. and you know what else is better? we got a good deal done, and supply chains, and business activity continues.

essentially uninterrupted, and this will be the most prosperous trading block, i just love it, thank you. nafta was a good deal when it was brought in 25 years ago, but the world has changed enormously, i don't want to repeat my colleagues have said, but the fact that there are provisions with respect to labor and the environment, the fact that we are taking a more focused approach on intellectual property, these are all good things that needed to happen, so i think this new deal, the usmca, is one for 2019, and a necessary exercise, and 6 years, we will review it, these are evergreen trade arrangements that have to take into account changing circumstances, but i think we are in a good place now.

do any of the governors have questions? governor herbert? >> it's an honor to have you all here, thank you, to help us understand trade in some of the challenges that we face with our friends to the north of the south -- and the south, the more i've been around the national governors association, i have come to appreciate that for most of us, the goals are the same, the outcomes are the same, we sometimes differ on process, the pathway to get there, the role of government in our lives, a redistribution of wealth, all of those things, which is why we have different parties, one thing we seem to agree on though, is fair trade, free trade, free trade is what we agree on, fair trade, beauty is in the eye of the beholder, so mr. kudlow, help me understand, how did we get this mess where we have so many different trade agreements with

so many different countries, should they be different? or should every trade agreement with every country be exactly the same? >> good question cup i don't think every country, every trade deal should be the same, i think each one has unique characteristics, we are engaged right now and trade talks, intense trade talks, they haven't gotten above the fold coverage, but we are working with europe, which has similar but different situations, working with japan, which has similar but different situations, and of course working with china. which has in many respects the most differences. president trump has argued for bilateral trade relations, rather than multilateral trade deals.

and i know not everyone agrees with that point of view, but he makes a couple of points that might help to answer your question. one of the points is, these large-scale multilateral deals frankly don't help the united states as much as they should. secondly, any adjudication processes actually run against the united states and many cases, now we are all working with the wto for reforms, yes, that would be a good thing if we can do it, but third, we have to make the best deal for america, and america's different economic sectors or constituencies, my emphasis on bipartisanship comes from the presidents own thinking, it may not always appear that way, i understand that, i don't want

to swim out of my lane, i am not a political expert, but we are cognizant, sensitive to the fact that certain parts of the country have certain priorities, they may be democrat or republican, a red state or blues day, we want to try to accommodate everybody, and i don't think you can do that on these big multilateral deals, frankly, may be at some future point, if we have bilateral fta's, we can get around to a more multilateral one, the minister mentioned trading blocks, perhaps so, with the president believes that america has not had a good deal. >> and i get that. we can follow up, if the goal is to have no tariffs and everybody the same, which is what you said in the opening dialogue, i understand, if everybody is treated the same, that's pretty fair, but you just said that we probably are

not going to have or don't want to have, or there are exceptions to that, where we have to have different trade agreements for a variety of reasons, those seem counter intuitive, zero, across the board, would say there are exceptions was some countries? weaker you know, -- >> you know, it is mr. kudlow intellectual pieces, here's like where we want to go over a long piece of --. of time, -- period of time. it is not a political statement, the president believes that prior administrations and congress under both republican and democratic majorities have not done the job, the goal is yes, zero tariffs, non-tariffs and subsidies, meanwhile, along the way, we want to make ings

better. that is really the point i'm saying, and i do think that you can work together, as far as the three zeros, i may or may not be able to be around to see that my lifetime, i get that, i think it is a worthy thought, i'm just trying to say that look, if we can have free fair and reciprocal, we will all benefit, we spent a lot of time with farmers, we spent a lot of time with the unions, with our cousins in mexico and canada, a lot of different things, these are hard things to do, as you probably know, as well. which state are you from? you understand. thank you, i think everybody wants to see a deal done, i think it's a good deal, a lot of people would agree it has a lot of good

provisions in it, the tariff sting, they do, but there has been a value in drawing everybody to the table, the other major point, which larry was alluding to, long-term, this is a big domino to fall, to put pressure on europe and asia to get subsequent deals done, speaking solely from the u.s. perspective, but from a north american perspective as well, that's why we want to see that. i would want to ask larry, how do you see the tears come into play for the u.s. ratification process? will that be done in parallel? you see it doing alone, congress taking up as the ratification process moves on in the spring? any slightly similar process, what is the ratification process in mexico, i don't know what canada has to do, but is it a similar process along the southern border?>> i will start with the last question, in a way it is

similar, but it is only the senate in mexico that has the jurisdiction which is responsible, they have been very active from the negotiations, and first december, and the change in legislature, happening since for september, very active to explain this, many times, their concerns, but i think with the support, i am confident there will be support, with all respect to the u.s. decision- making process, i hope there will be support, and maybe my hope is much higher in mexico, i am confident, there will be disputes in areas that are painful, but on balance, it is seen as a good deal, and i think the senators on balance will go forward.

we are carefully watching the process in the united states, just my guess, is that we would try to get a move. >> it's a pleasure, i have known many governor and senator sununu's, it's a pleasure. the house and the senate, we are moving towards the vote with that, it's funny, a little bit under the radar, because china is in town, but actually this is a huge priority for the united states, for administration, and we are working in earnest with both democrats and republicans, and actually, >> nancy pelosi -- speaker nancy pelosi, who i have spoken with movie -- over the years, she has offered usmca 101

meetings with various members of their caucus, their conference, we have to get it through, same with the senate. but can i make a broader point, i thought i heard this, i think from you governor, and also mr. sununu, you know, we have a long , positive alliance with the european union, with mexico, with canada, my god, canada has stood with us for so many years, and so many different and difficult areas. the china thing is tougher, i am happy to take questions on china if i can help you on that, the china thing is tougher. i know sometimes, our team is accused of being isolationist or anti-globalist or something,

at the un meetings last fall we signed together the eu, the united states and japan, a trilateral statement, which was essentially a very strong screed against what was called nonmarket economies. meaning china. and i might add, our friends in canada and mexico were well aware of this, and approved of it, i hoped cella to the president, and bob, the reason i raise that is, i won our chinese friends to know full well that what we used to call the western allies, stand united to create a new global trading system governed by the rule of

law. which is really broken down in the last i don't know how many years. does that isolate the chinese? let me put it differently, does that get their attention? i believe it did, i believe it did, little things like that, we promoted it, that is the kind of thing, with international politics, the great game is still alive, and it's important, they wanted a deal with the eu, and the eu said no, they would rather come to america, they wanted a deal with america -- japan, and japan said we are sticking with america, on the eve of the confidence -- conference in singapore, with president xi giving a big speech, the french and german ambassadors wrote a

scathing editorial, i think it was in the financial times, but i'm not sure, essentially drawing on the idea that we cannot tolerate nonmarket economies because of their harm to our economies. and they got that message. now, right now president trump and president xi have a improved relationship, they will probably get together sometime at the end of march, probably down in mar-a-lago to put the finishing touches on the deal, that's the idea, we are putting pressure on them, and besides the latest in the process, passing the usmca would be so helpful as a show of unity here in north america, and as a show to china, that we are unified in this new world of trading, it would just give

us a leg up, momentum, i am really making a pitch here to you on both sides of the aisle, to help us in congress, with usmca passage, we will do anything, you can call me anytime day or night, the same is true for bob, and the same is true for mnuchin and the president, trade, investment, and sends a signal to china that they need to play by the rules . thank you, and as we wrap up, either the minister or the deputy secretary can provide some closing comments? >> i will make this very brief, and i won't belabor the points i made at the beginning, if the tariffs on steele and aluminum are removed, canada will move

expeditiously towards the ratification of the usmca, we believe very strongly in it, and dropping the $15 billion in counter tariffs, we felt obliged to impose, and are affecting many american companies. -- steel we want to see the usmca ratified in canada. >> if i may say, there is no more vibrant democracy than your country, you have an amazing richness of debate and views, all of that, and of course, not only expected, but good that there should be deep and difficult debate on something as important as the usmca, the division of labor

among politicians, i get the impression the governors with the legislators, close to the ground, close to the employment, so not to say that everybody supports the usmca, not at all, that would be presumptuous, but on balance, a group of top politicians that understand very directly the benefits of this. there is more debate in the hands of those who have to approve it. so i would really call for what mr. kudlow just said, call for you not only to help the process, but to help us help the process, to guide the people in the white house, and mexico, to the extent that we can help with this or that, with explanation, whatever, the canadians, how to pass the message to the whole political

parties in the united states, you have a direct line to the thinking to your connection with the economies in your states, make it happen, thank you. >> the partnerships between the three nations have been long, and our histories are woven together, we need to look forward to continuing partnerships long into the future, thank all three panelists for being here. >> [ applause ] governors find that they want to increase the amount of jobs in their states, they want innovative technology, they want direct investment from companies throughout the world, and the way to make that happen is they have to engage globally, the national governors association recently launched nga global the purpose is to provide technical assistance to help governors make sure that they are developing the relationships, and getting

companies throughout the world to consider their state for further economic development and investment, and further job creation. what is important for states particularly like nevada, to engage globally, it is now a global economy. they don't want to have to do things 50 times, by having nga global, a clearinghouse, nga is a great partner, to fill specific needs. >> the international trade, placing it on the global map, direct investment in utah, and educational, and cultural relationships around the world. >> access to a lot of people that will help you create more jobs in your state, we've been very fortunate that we've had the president of ghana, prime minister is from places like australia and canada, with the

governors find is that they learn from those countries, but they also develop relationships, it allows them to encourage those companies and countries to consider investing in their state. we've had a solid history from our trade relationships, companies, building up on both sides of the borders, as families, the only way to ensure that we continue to maintain, enhance and prosper together is to have these sorts of relationships with elected officials. it's critical to engage with issues globally around trade and investment, mexico is arizona's number 1 trading partner, and our neighboring state to the south is sonora, we are blessed and lucky in arizona, we have a leader, the first female governor in the history of the state of sonora. >> [ speaking spanish ]

arizona and sonora find common ground, and share things that we can work on together, like economic development, public safety, so i think when we look for the common ground, leader to leader, the things we can do to improve the prosperity of our state, and make sure it is more peaceful and safer, a benefit to the state of arizona, bringing jobs to our state, and her state as well. the national governors association offers an enormous amount of services to governors, cabinet secretaries and their staff to ensure that they are learning and sharing information across states. >> we are the ceos of states

that have got to build coalitions to solve problems. >> building those relationships, finding the best ways to move our states forward, individually it is often done by working collectively. >> i can look at things that have been successful in my ministration, they came from other governors. >> you are one of 50 in the country, exclusive club, issues and problems that most other people really don't understand, the ability to sit down in a room, with her colleagues, sharing similar experiences, the beautiful thing is, you really can't tell who the republicans and democrats are, if i didn't have a scorecard with a new governors, i wouldn't have an idea. nga was crucial for me, there's no monopoly on information.>> they have a best practices, vendors, people you can help -- you can get help

from, when you know who to contact. >> so many ways to tap into the expertise and the progress that nga helps to drive. good morning, everyone, time to wake up, i am arizona governor doug ducey, and chairman of nga's economic development and commerce committee, it is my honor to be here this morning, joined by north carolina governor roy cooper, to chair this session on entrepreneurship. i think we all know in this new era, and new economy, this is a time when companies can start an scale anywhere in the country in the world, so to maximize these opportunities, we governors must work with private industry to create an environment where we can

innovate and flourish. the conversation that we are going to have appeared today, it will be open for questions, providing us a chance to share the successes we've had, while cultivating a culture of entrepreneurship inside the states, i'm very excited to hear how organizations like revolutions, can disrupt the economy, and happy that steve case can join us this morning. let me touch upon some of the things we're doing in arizona, to have an open for business attitude, and a competitive environment that is very dynamic with other states. we have had a moratorium on rules and regulations that have been renewed every year i've been in office, paving the way for self driving technology in arizona, and 4 gm, international, and national

companies to the state, entrepreneurs can crowd fund for equity, we have been the first date to pave the way for 5g, and 2 great a regulatory sandbox program to develop and test products and services. these are things we are excited about, and things that we want to hear more about what is going on in other states, and ideas that we can apply in our states. with that, i will hand it over to my partner, on the commerce authority and economic development committee, that is governor roy cooper, from north carolina, tell us what's going on in north carolina. >> thank you governor doug ducey, i have a mission statement from north carolina, i want in north carolina where they are better educated, healthier, more money in their pockets, opportunities to live

more abundantly in purposeful lives, the third grade class i told that to, they really liked the more money in your pockets part of the mission statement. we want a prosperous north carolina and country, and we know that innovation and not ownership is a way to get companies started and they grow and they create jobs for a lot of people. for example, in north carolina, we have the company pinto, which started with todd olson, he worked with cisco, red hat, started growing this company, they are now expanding, they could've gone anywhere in the country with their expansion, they were being courted, but they decided to stay in raleigh, north carolina because of our amazing talent cluster there, some of the greatest universities in the world, in

the triangle area, in charlotte, global banking capital, what we are doing in north carolina, is trying to kickstart innovation and entrepreneurship, we've got about one .6 million n. carolinians who have their jobs in small business, -- 1.6 million, 44% of the workforce. we have to give opportunities to innovate, there are some obstacles that people are facing. we have about $41 billion in student debt in north carolina, a lot of people have to get jobs with companies to help pay off the loans, it's much harder for them to be in a position where they are able to innovate and able to start their own companies.

i have a pointed -- appointed a council to do with these issues. issues of student debt, issues and making sure that entrepreneurship and innovation is available for people of color, and for women.