Texas business groups are forming a coalition to protect and foster trade opportunities between the United States and Mexico, amid a renegotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement spearheaded by the Trump administration.

The Texas-Mexico Trade Coalition will officially launch on Thursday and includes the Texas Association of Business, the Texas Business Leadership Council and the Borderplex Alliance. The alliance includes business operations on both sides of the U.S.-Mexico border.

President Donald Trump pledged to renegotiate NAFTA early in his presidency and has threatened to withdraw entirely from the pact if Mexico and Canada do not agree to make changes that give “American workers a fair deal.”

In May, the Trump administration officially informed Congress of its intent to renegotiate, starting the clock on a 90-day period of consultation with lawmakers and interested parties over how to revise the agreement. Trump, who once called NAFTA “a disaster,” has asked that the deal protect factory workers in the U.S. and be revised to reflect modern technologies.

Members of the Texas-Mexico Trade Coalition are urging lawmakers to protect the “deep economic ties” between Texas and Mexico and to modernize the agreement to include new industry and technologies.

In 2016, the United States exported about $262 billion in goods and services to Mexico, $93 billion of which came from Texas. Trade with Mexico supported about 1.2 million U.S. jobs in 2015, according to the U.S. Department of Commerce. Trade with Canada supported about 1.6 million jobs.

U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, said during an event in El Paso earlier this month that revamping the trade agreement will have a positive economic impact on Texas.

U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, also supports the NAFTA renegotiation and said opening Mexico's energy resources to American should be a priority as it could "produce thousands of high-paying jobs in Mexico and in Texas."

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Mrudula Duddempudi.