NAFTA Untouchable?

[Big Guy]

The Donald has come out promising to dump NAFTA if he gets elected.

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/is-donald-trump-right-to-call-nafta-a-disaster/

There are a few Canadians who agree that NAFTA is not that great an idea.

I know little about trade agreements and what effect they have on an economy. NAFTA has been in place now for over 20 years. Has it been a good thing or a bad thing for Canada?

[overthere]

It has overall been a great thing for Canada.

Clinton is also not a fan of NAFTA.

Looks like Big Daddy is moving on to some new favored nations, and we can expect they'll take some or all of their branch plants home with them.

Luckily we are now diverse and resourceful, so that gigantic festering hole in our economy will be easily replaced.

[bush_cheney2004]

It has overall been a great thing for Canada.

Sure seems that way...how many big auto or defense plants has a Canadian company built in the United States, employing thousands ?

[kimmy]

With Trump promising to tear up the Trans-Pacific Partnership, we may be looking at a brave new world where anti-globalization protesters are supporting the Republicans while the "pro-business" types support Hillary.

Things are getting weird.

-k

[Derek 2.0]

With Trump promising to tear up the Trans-Pacific Partnership, we may be looking at a brave new world where anti-globalization protesters are supporting the Republicans while the "pro-business" types support Hillary.

Things are getting weird.

-k

I don't know about weird, more along the lines of Trump starting to do to the Democrats and Clinton what he did to the Republicans...........in this case channeling Bernie Sanders and his own brand of populism......

As to the impact of NAFTA being torn up........simple, revisit the 1970s and early 1980s, the last time we had a Trudeau, and the economic impact a weak, isolated Canadian economy had on our standard of living and nation as a whole.........

[overthere]

With Trump promising to tear up the Trans-Pacific Partnership, we may be looking at a brave new world where anti-globalization protesters are supporting the Republicans while the "pro-business" types support Hillary.

Things are getting weird.

-k

Clinton has said she also opposes the TPP.

As to the impact of NAFTA being torn up........simple, revisit the 1970s and early 1980s, the last time we had a Trudeau, and the economic impact a weak, isolated Canadian economy had on our standard of living and nation as a whole.........

Ah The Golden Years... tax and spend, wage and price controls....we were all winners then...

[Derek 2.0]

Ah The Golden Years... tax and spend, wage and price controls....we were all winners then...

Oh, but it gets better:

We can't even play Mexico or any Asia crap-hole that make socks for Costco:

The country's trade deficit grew to a record $3.4 billion in March as exports plunged by a lot more than imports did, Statistics Canada said.

The figure was more than double the $1.4-billion deficit that economists had been expecting.

[dre]

The Donald has come out promising to dump NAFTA if he gets elected.

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/is-donald-trump-right-to-call-nafta-a-disaster/

There are a few Canadians who agree that NAFTA is not that great an idea.

I know little about trade agreements and what effect they have on an economy. NAFTA has been in place now for over 20 years. Has it been a good thing or a bad thing for Canada?

NAFTA is a mixed bag for Canada. There was definitely a trade "bump" following the signing of the agreement, but it only lasted a few short years. After that our trade with the US has increased at the same rate it had already been increasing prior to NAFTA. A bit slower in fact.

Overall... Things wouldn't be much different without it.

The loosening of trade restrictions between the US and China had a bigger impact on us than NAFTA... We had hoped to become big exporters of merchandise into the debt driven US consumer market, but China ended up getting most of that business.

Trade in merchandise has been almost flat for 15 years.

Edited May 6, 2016 by dre

[bush_cheney2004]

Nothing new about attacking NAFTA....Canadian and American politicians have routinely threatened to abrogate for political gain, and is provided for in the agreement (A Party may withdraw from this Agreement six months after it provides written notice of withdrawal to the other Parties. If a Party withdraws, the Agreement shall remain in force for the remaining Parties. ).

There is a long history of this in politics. Barack Obama, for instance, campaigned in 2008 on a promise to renegotiate NAFTA. As president, however, he never followed through.

...All of this is important to Canada because this nation’s economy is centred on NAFTA. Canada has already gone though the wrenching transition from a protected economy, where most things purchased here were made here, to one built around a continent-wide supply chain.

Canadians will want to watch this carefully as it plays out. No Canadian government of any stripe would have the nerve to either abrogate NAFTA or demand a wholesale rewrite of the deal.

But the Americans might.

https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2016/05/05/watch-out-canada-donald-trump-has-tapped-into-americas-anti-nafta-mood-walkom.html

[Bonam]

Overall... Things wouldn't be much different without it.

In a broad economic sense, you are probably correct. Big corporations will find a way to operate their businesses across international boundaries whether there are a lot of hoops to jump through or fewer, as long as the business is worth it. On the other hand, for small businesses and individuals, NAFTA smooths things greatly. Consider the ease with which a Canadian professional can go work in the US using a TN visa... you literally show up at the border, present your job offer letter, and are admitted into the US with the right to live and work there for 3 years. Without NAFTA, one would have to go through the much more cumbersome and expensive H-1B process. NAFTA also makes it easier for individuals and small businesses to purchase, sell, and ship goods across the border. For Canadians, NAFTA is worth it for the convenience and increased opportunities alone.

[bush_cheney2004]

NAFTA was not all peaches and cream....first had to deal with it in 1995 for thin films / vapor deposition manufacturing. The paperwork to identify source percentage content for all constituent materials was actually more difficult than just using an export broker/service. Mexican motor freight carriers (trucking companies) only began to get a piece of the BIG FAT United States market last year (2015), more than 20 years after NAFTA.

Trump will have no problem convincing American labour and voters that Mexico and Canada do not bring an equal amount of opportunity and market size compared to the United States.

[Topaz]

NAFTA only makes corporations more powerful, which then lobbies governments to change laws to even give corps. more power which in turn, makes all those politicians richer! Corps. run the world.

[bush_cheney2004]

NAFTA only makes corporations more powerful, which then lobbies governments to change laws to even give corps. more power which in turn, makes all those politicians richer! Corps. run the world.

Well I heard some guy on the radio and he said that Canada's economy is going to implode so the U.S. corps should repatriate all their capital before it happens and get those jobs back to the USA where they belong. Canada and Mexico want access to the huge U.S. market but don't offer as much in return except more hate for Americans.