The Auto Care Association hosted a meeting with Automotive Industries Association of Canada (AIA Canada) and Asociación Nacional de Representantes, Importadores y Distribuidores de Refacciones y Accesorios para Automóviles, A.C. (ARIDRA) during its Spring Leadership Days in San Antonio, Texas, on May 2. The purpose of the meeting was to share information about the association’s respective programs and identify areas of collaboration, including increased access to market research, education programs, trade promotion activities and technology initiatives.

AIA Canada is an industry association representing the automotive aftermarket supply and service chain in Canada. ARIDRA is an industry association representing manufacturers, representatives, importers and distributors of automotive parts and accessories in Mexico.

The meeting included a discussion of North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) trade benefits for the automotive industry in each of the three countries, and potential consequences of withdrawal or renegotiation of the agreement. The close geographic proximity of the NAFTA countries allows aftermarket suppliers and distributors to integrate supply chains and increase the flow of goods efficiently by treating the three countries as a single market. The agreement has been economically beneficial to the aftermarket in all participating countries by permitting duty-free access to the three NAFTA markets.

The three associations reaffirmed a unified commitment to NAFTA and cautioned that any changes to NAFTA could disrupt tightly-integrated supply chains, increasing production costs and affecting job growth. Many U.S.-based operations source intermediate goods from NAFTA partners and cross borders multiple times before final assembly in the U.S.

Nearly 400 volunteer leaders, members, professional staff and VIPs participated in several days of meetings during the Auto Care Association Spring Leadership Days held in San Antonio, Texas last week. These events, which are held in the spring and fall, feature some 30 committee, segment, board and other meetings and networking opportunities.