It took jobs from US workers and put big business over the laws of our country, for example Mexico could send huge polluting trucks that were way overweight for our roads and we could do nothing about it.

It should have penalize any business that closed down in US to set up shop for cheaper labor. Instead, the tax code was such it paid businesses to relocate. Having trade agreements with our nearest neighbors always makes sense.

I saw what the colonia development did along the border, with worker communities living (even on the US side) with no running water/sewage. It was always apparent who would benefit, with only a few crumbs for the workers (both Mexican and US). Given where they started, it might have felt "good" for the Mexican workers, but overall, the corporations reaped nearly all the benefits, at least on the long term. What Americans reaped was stable prices which helped somewhat to offset the exploitation by employers keen on keeping wages down.

Winners and losers... Few of the first, lots of the last and most somewhere in between.

eventually Mexican wages would rise and create a better market for us.

But, not enough was done to slow the mad rush for cheap Mexican labor. And, of course, when Mexican wages did rise, there was always another cheaper place to sew skirts and jeans.

If one believes America is part of a bigger global world; that America has taken -- at times stolen -- more than its fair share of global resources; from a global perspective most of America is like the 10%ers of the world; long-term, a prospering world is best; and the like, one is likely for NAFTA and other trade agreements.

I think long-term, we and the world are better off with a global view, rather than America First. America First is not unlike those in America who believe "we've got ours, screw you" attitude many well-off have toward poorer people here.

Don't believe we will do well long-term, trading among ourselves, nor is it moral. It's kind of like the guy who comes to a poker game, wins most of the money, and leaves early without giving others a chance.

With that said, the American internal tax system is not working to benefit of all citizens.

but was generally perceived as bad by the public of all 3 countries involved. However, wages and employment in the US went up after NAFTA. It made the alliance of Canada, Mexico, and the US stronger.

NAFTA's long term problems were the lack of trade treaties outside of NAFTA which in some ways undercut NAFTA. These are often combined in peoples minds with NAFTA, but having read the reports on NAFTA's effect to the US economy. It delivered mostly what it promised.

NAFTA was a wash in many ways in terms of benefit. What actually happened was about the same time China was on the rise quickly and much of the work that might have gone to Mexico ended up going to China.

I was 12 in 1992 and I remember a lot of what was going on in the news. Even as a kid, I saw it as s ploy to reduce wages in the US.

It did eliminate a lot of jobs.

I was a factory rat and I viewed it as an attack against my livelihood, which it was.

First factories moved to southern states, then Mexico, then China, then Vietnam, Bangladesh etc

It was always a race to the bottom.

Shitler arbitrarily pulling out of trade agreements is BS as well but yeah, I was totally against NAFTA.

Last edited Wed Aug 8, 2018, 10:56 AM - Edit history (1)

I'd like all North American partners' workers to be able to work productively. I'd like to have all the citizens of the countries be able to flow more freely back and forth across the border.

But that hasn't worked out well. All citizens are able to be negatively impacted by big capital cross border, though.

Of course, shitler's tack is to throw our entire trade relationship, and alliance relationship, with Mexico and Canada onto the trashheap. Which is not populism, but moronic fascism. Generally opposed by labor, though I haven't checked with Rich Trumka on this lately, I'll go out on a limb and make that assertion, baldly.

I rather break down walls than build them.

and for it now.

and imperfect, I was and am very much in favor of the "tres amigos" coming together in cooperation to secure prosperity and economic and military security for Canada, America and Mexico. How it's administered, of course, determines how well and for whom it works. I'm afraid I remember almost nothing of the complex economic details I thought were important then.

I've gone/returned to college to develop new knowledge and skills a few times in my life. So I have limited sympathy for those who refuse to admit that we live in centuries of rapid change and view the need to occasionally develop new skills over their lifetimes as an evil corporate (left) and/or government (right) plot to oppress them.

Also, although I already remembered increasingly less from my four very difficult classes in economics four decades ago now (and economic theory has advanced), I was then able to understand fairly intelligent articles on the economic pros and cons. That sort of thing also protected me from vulnerability to the evil-big-government nonsense and one-world paranoia being pushed at the time.

these 'treaties' are always designed to let manufacturers avoid local wage, safety and environental laws. One thing they all have in common...the worker always gets f*cked.

my dad, a UAW member that it really meant; Not A Fucking Thing American.

It was the beginning of that big sucking sound of jobs leaving