Trump’s terrible deal on Nafta

The North American Free Trade Agreement (Nafta) is a nearly 25-year-old agreement that needs to be modernised to address new technologies, update intellectual property rights and protect American industry and workers from unfair competition.

Instead, President Donald Trump has proposed replacing Nafta with something worse, a vague agreement that could hurt American workers and raise prices for American consumers while antagonising America’s neighbours.

In the Trumpian world view, Canada isn’t a friendly neighbour but a frosty enemy bent on ruining US steel, automotive and dairy industries while cutting down forests in British Columbia and trucking the lumber across the border. Fiends!

Likewise, as he sees it, Mexico ships tequila, produce and people north, and imports higher-paying US manufacturing jobs. Desperados! Yet his solutions would simply add complications, with few benefits.

American farmers have been big losers in the trade war so far, and would remain so under this trade deal. After Trump assessed tariffs on Mexican metals, Mexico imposed tariffs on corn and pork and is becoming less dependent on the American market every year — meaning the deal is covering fewer and fewer jobs. So Trump’s deal isn’t going to be getting jobs back from Mexico.

Having failed to browbeat Canada into submission by the US-imposed August 31 deadline, the ever-petulant Trump then tweet-threatened not only Canada but his own Congress: “If we don’t make a fair deal for the US after decades of abuse, Canada will be out. Congress should not interfere w/ these negotiations or I will simply terminate Nafta entirely & we will be far better off.”

The US will certainly not be better off. Nor is Congress planning to cede its authority in treaty making.

The president can and should expect a bipartisan pushback against an unnecessary and abusive bad “deal”. New York, September 3