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NAFFFFFTA

Spindrift

Time Person of the Year, 2006
Spindrift
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Did anyone hear Trump announcing that NAFTA was going to be renegotiated?

He pronounced it NAFFFFFTA. "You've heard of NAFFFFFTA." Very weird.

What is he going to do if Mexico says, "Nah, we're good."?

He can't repeal the treaty. Would the Senate actually do so?
 
Spindrift said:
Did anyone hear Trump announcing that NAFTA was going to be renegotiated?

He pronounced it NAFFFFFTA. "You've heard of NAFFFFFTA." Very weird.

What is he going to do if Mexico says, "Nah, we're good."?

He can't repeal the treaty. Would the Senate actually do so?
Click to expand...

Why wouldn't the Senate vote to repeal the treaty if that's what the President wants?

Sure it would be bad for business but the alternative would be to vote with the ebil-communistical-Democrats. Destroying the economy is much less of a problem for a GOP senator than being seen to be cosying up to the opposition...
 
When NAFTA was ratified, it became federal law, so the only way to override it is to pass another Federal Law that counteracts the provisions of NAFTA.

If Trump wants to have the U.S. unilaterally leave NAFTA, I'm pretty sure it would require an Act of Congress, not just the advice and consent of the Senate that making a treaty requires. So it would have to go through both houses, but require only a simple majority in each (treaty ratification only requires the Senate, but requires 2/3 majority). There may be case law that contradicts me on this though, this is just based on my own naive reading of the Constitution.

Would Congress do this? Hell no. Republicans aren't anti-NAFTA. And now that they hold power over all three branches of Government, the don't have to keep such a hard line against cooperating with Democrats, they will likely find common ground in opposing Trump on this. The primary purpose of that hard line is to sabotage Democratic administrations ability to do anything. NAFTA is in the interests of many Republican backers, and they won't piss them off just because Trump asks them to.
 
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So Trump is going to attempt to re-negotiate from a position of weakness?

He can't unilaterally repeal NAFTA and the Congress is unlikely to do so on it's own. And Mexico and Canada know this.

But Trump is the greatest deal maker in the history of the world so I'm sure they will be overwhelmed with his greatness and capitulate to whatever demands he makes.

I haven't seen what it is that Trump wants to negotiate. Are there any clues?
 
Spindrift said:
So Trump is going to attempt to re-negotiate from a position of weakness?

He can't unilaterally repeal NAFTA and the Congress is unlikely to do so on it's own. And Mexico and Canada know this.

But Trump is the greatest deal maker in the history of the world so I'm sure they will be overwhelmed with his greatness and capitulate to whatever demands he makes.

I haven't seen what it is that Trump wants to negotiate. Are there any clues?
Click to expand...

Presumably he wants to slap huge duties on (some ?) imported goods so as to stimulate U.S. manufacturing. Never mind that there isn't the capacity and it'll hit consumers in the pocket.

I presume he still wants tariff free access to Canadian and Mexican markets though.

Only Trump can pull off this seemingly impossible negotiation :rolleyes:
 
Spindrift said:
Did anyone hear Trump announcing that NAFTA was going to be renegotiated?

He pronounced it NAFFFFFTA. "You've heard of NAFFFFFTA." Very weird.

What is he going to do if Mexico says, "Nah, we're good."?

He can't repeal the treaty. Would the Senate actually do so?
Click to expand...

He talks to everybody like they're children.
 
The left used to be against this. It has decimated our manufacturing base, which was predicted, all to make a few rich men even richer. But of course the leftists here are for it now.
 
logger said:
The left used to be against this. It has decimated our manufacturing base, which was predicted, all to make a few rich men even richer. But of course the leftists here are for it now.
Click to expand...

Really? You do know what President signed the NAFTA agreement?
 
logger said:
So you're saying the left was all for NAFTA?
Click to expand...

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news...crats-supported-nafta/?utm_term=.9f800064a88c

Bill Clinton was certainly a supporter of NAFTA who pushed approval through Congress. But it was negotiated and signed by President George H.W. Bush. (Here’s a photo.) Moreover, more Republicans than Democrats voted for the deal, as the trade pact was vehemently opposed by labor unions. One key ally for Clinton was then-House Minority Whip (and later House speaker) Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.), who is said to be on Trump’s list of possible running mates.
Click to expand...
 
logger said:
The left used to be against this. It has decimated our manufacturing base, which was predicted, all to make a few rich men even richer. But of course the leftists here are for it now.
Click to expand...

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news...crats-supported-nafta/?utm_term=.211ca8e3859b

As we have noted repeatedly before, economists have not reached any firm conclusion on the impact of NAFTA, but many think that claims of massive job losses are overstated. The Congressional Research Service in 2015 concluded that the “net overall effect of NAFTA on the U.S. economy appears to have been relatively modest, primarily because trade with Canada and Mexico accounts for a small percentage of U.S. GDP [gross domestic product].”
Click to expand...
 
logger said:
And they were wrong for doing it! Would you leftist care to agree with Trump now?
Click to expand...

See above.

Also, not a leftist. I've corrected you many, many times.

As for agreeing with Trump, check the link above to see why he's wrong.
 
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NAFTA was a product of the Theory of Comparative Advantage , the idea being that the US can achieve the biggest surpluses if it focuses on the things it makes best and lets other countries with lower labor costs produce lower-margin products.
This has worked well if you include the troves of cash US companies have parked overseas.
But it did mean no longer supporting aging and ailing industries in the Rust Belt.
 
The Great Zaganza said:
NAFTA was a product of the Theory of Comparative Advantage , the idea being that the US can achieve the biggest surpluses if it focuses on the things it makes best and lets other countries with lower labor costs produce lower-margin products.
This has worked well if you include the troves of cash US companies have parked overseas.
But it did mean no longer supporting aging and ailing industries in the Rust Belt.
Click to expand...
And it made a very small group very rich.

Look, I know leftist like to think they're unique and all think differently, but as this issue was getting ramped up, the left was clearly against it and that's fine if you want to deny it, but that simply isn't reality.

Because the left is so dishonest in every way, they cannot be compromised with, they simply need to be defeated. Of course that is exactly what happened, they'll probably continue to lose and be forced to protest, since that's all they have left.
 
logger said:
And it made a very small group very rich.

Look, I know leftist like to think they're unique and all think differently, but as this issue was getting ramped up, the left was clearly against it and that's fine if you want to deny it, but that simply isn't reality.

Because the left is so dishonest in every way, they cannot be compromised with, they simply need to be defeated. Of course that is exactly what happened, they'll probably continue to lose and be forced to protest, since that's all they have left.
Click to expand...

You mean the left was against it except for the people on the left who were for it?
 
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