Let’s make a deal

Why NAFTA is worth saving

NOT ONE, not two, not three but four—count ‘em, four—governors, including Arkansas’ own Asa Hutchinson, now have met at the White House to tell the country’s top brass why a deal is a deal and worth sticking with. Present at this high-level confab were Vice President Mike Pence, Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross, Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue, and U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer. All of whom have made sound deals before, and all agree that the North American Free Trade Agreement is one of the soundest. Let’s not end NAFTA, just mend it, if necessary.

Gentle Reader could scarcely find a more experienced or high-powered group of negotiators than these gentlemen. Their counsel should be followed rather than ignored. They know from what they speak, for they’ve been down this long trail a-windin’ before. For them, this is familiar territory, as their counsel reveals.

“It was important for them to hear exactly what the impact would be on Arkansas” if the almost a quarter-ofa-century-old deal were thrown aside, Governor Hutchinson said after this momentous meeting had concluded. If the country were to withdraw from NAFTA, he added, “it would be very harmful. I do not believe that is the goal of the administration. Their preference is that NAFTA be renegotiated in a way that’s more fair. [The agreement] needs to be renegotiated. It needs to be modernized, and that is their preference for the United States and North America. We’ll see where the negotiation goes, but it was very important for Arkansas agriculture and Arkansas businesses that I was at least able to present the facts as to how important that trade is for our state.” Amen, Selah, and steady as she goes, Governor.

Talk of ending NAFTA can only alarm this state’s farmers, economic developers, and all the official types trying to push this state into this century’s promising industrial future. It’s an all too familiar lag—the one between technological developments and a past that is content with things as they have been and, alas, as they may remain unless given a good nudge.

To quote Melvin Torres, who directs Western Hemisphere Trade for World Trade Center Arkansas, NAFTA has a couple of decades of technical development to catch up with. Note well: Unlike the country as a whole, Arkansas enjoys trade surpluses with both Canada and Mexico. In 2016, this state exported $1.2 billion worth of goods and services to Canada and $686 million to Mexico. Canada was the chief foreign destination for the state’s goods and services last year.

In short, trade between this country and its neighbors to both north and south is vital. Loose talk, Donald Trump-style, about giving up NAFTA is irresponsible and not a little alarming. To quote Randy Veach, president of the Arkansas Farm Bureau: “If we lose this trade agreement, it’s going to be devastating.” Here’s hoping Governor Hutchinson can show this president the light of clear, cool reason where trade is concerned. In large part, Arkansas’ future depends on it.