[NeoCaveman]

People in Ohio were losing manufacturing jobs a LONG TIME before NAFTA ever came around... high taxes and greedy unions are the problem, not a mushy free-trade agreement.

I've tried telling people that China isn't even in NAFTA, but I've given up on that....

[Procyon]

The alternative to NAFTA, which placed jobs into Mexico, was no-NAFTA. Without NAFTA the jobs would have moved to Asia and Asian workers are less likely to buy American products in return when Asia products are cheaper.

Probably 50% of retail sales in U.S. counties bordering Mexico are from Mexicans.Whether they are spending their money on American vs. Asian consumer goods is another story. Sufficed to say NAFTA was not as bad as the alternative.

[nyconse]

It’s not just NAFTA. The whole free trade thing has hurt American business. All the promises about global trading were big fat lies. the fat cats in both parties became wealthy and the average worker lost big.