NAFTA repeal possible?

Question

The NAFTA agreement was drafted over many years during both Democratic and Republican administrations, it was backed by representatives of both parties at the time of it’s signing. I feel its economic impact on America is obvious with the loss of jobs and industry here in the U.S.A. My question is, could the NAFTA agreement be repealed, who would back such a repeal and could we once again rebuild our country’s industry? Serious answers on the issue only please I'm not looking to throw rocks at either party.

Answer 1

It's unlikely, due to the formation of economic unions e.g. European Union, African Union, elsewhere in the world. Our problem isn't losing jobs to Mexico, as Ross Perot had warned: it's losing jobs to India, China, and elsewhere in Southeast Asia. Just go to a retail store and start looking at tags in clothing or on electronics.

Sending our manufacturing overseas has a short term benefit for retailers and consumers, but long term, it is very bad for our country. Our social security system was devised nearly 70 years ago, when almost everything was manufactured locally and food was grown locally. We depended upon employers and employees paying a percentage of the wages into a fund to pay for the support of retirees, widows and orphans. When our merchandise comes from overseas, it does not have that cost built in, and does not contribute to the social security fund. Although our country has undergone a huge change in the economic structure, the tax structure hasn't changed along with it. I would very much like to see a national sales tax on imports with the proceeds going to social security. That would put our own manufacturing and agriculture on a more equal footing.

Answer 2

What really disturbs me is the NAFTA Superhighway that doesn't seem to be getting ANY attention in the media. In the post-9/11 era, I'm not sure I want trucks to be able to get all the way to Kansas City before they have to clear customs.

I also KNOW that despite any laws that are made, Mexican trucks will not adhere to the same safety standards and driver's maximum hours standards that US trucks adhere to, and any party that "cheats" will have an unfair advantage over those who uphold the law.

The NAFTA superhighway is a bad idea. Conceptually, NAFTA is a good thing, but it presumes that everyone will play by the same rules, and that's actually not the case.

While I'm on my soapbox...

I think we've gone way past the extreme in cutting costs too. Look at a Scrabble set now that's made in China. It's now a plastic board with plastic letters that are very cheaply made. When I was a kid, they were made here in America with WOODEN tiles. I'd be willing to pay more for a GOOD scrabble set, but all that's available to me now is the made-in-china cheap set that's at my local Wal-mart.

How many more product recalls do we have to endure before we decide to start bringing manufacturing jobs BACK to the United States? Yes, it will mean prices increase somewhat, but so what? Let's get back to making America great.

Answer 3

If it can be created by the government, it can be repealed by the government. The ease or difficulty of doing that is the better question. You would need the backing of the majority of Congress, which is hard to do because of the political gridlock caused by party partisanship. Still possible though; it's not like there's an invisible force preventing the law from being abolished.

Answer 4

I don't think it's NAFTA that's the problem. Far more jobs are lost to Asia than Canada and Mexico. And at least Canada and Mexico buy stuff from us.

Answer 5

The majority of Democrats and Republicans in Congress are in the pockets of big business. I don't see that happening unless there's a huge turnover. But we can always hope.

Answer 6

i don't know.i didn't learn about nafta and the north american union till about a month ago and a lot of america's still haven't heard about it.they're keeping this behind closed doors,how do we suppose to oppose it when we don't even know about it?

Answer 7

I hope so. We stepped out of Kioto.. so why not Nafta, and Kafta, and all our other insane, so called "free trade" policies?

Answer 8

Probably modified but not repealed.

Answer 9

omg i learned about this in geography! north american free trade agreement...! cool beans

Answer 10

sure