Biggest flaw is that it did not mandate the return of all Mexicans in the U.s. back to Mexico. Send them all home! Ban remittances and trade from Mexico until they go home.
“All these measures will be a boom to the U.S. auto industry and certain commodity producers (i.e., steel and aluminum companies), but U.S. consumers will end up paying the price because higher input costs mean higher sticker prices for cars.
Like a broken record. Robert Lighthizer is a gifted trade negotiator.
What else changed? Are we stopping Mexican trucks and drivers at the border? I sure hope so and recall Trump talking about this in the campaign. Did this get forgotten?
What about respecting the border--stopping human trafficing as a condition of commerce? Maybe build the wall?
What about return of Mexicans to Mexico? And for Mexico to stop transhipping others via Mexico to the U.S.? And for Mexico to stop encouraging Mexicans go emigrate to the U.S.?
My conclusion is that this is a fake trade agreement. Mostly the same agreement with a few rather cosmetic changes. We need substantive changes. How do we undo the damage caused by NAFTA? I don't see that addressed at all.
Therefore the entire agreement is a win, for many other reasons:
- Because it is a WIN in trade negotiations,
- Because it pressures Canada to achieve a negotiated settlement,
- It pressures China and demonstrates Trump's resolve.
And who is going to pay for Mexico’s “new” socialism?? The drug cartels?? HA! Certainly not the impoverished people, a good percentage of which are living off the U.S. taxpayer....
But overall, this deal is a big plus win!!! In spite of the fact that we are STILL stuck with paying for a big chunk of Mexican poverty.....
What’s its purpose other than to screw the US?
But farmers would rather have free trade than receive more government subsidies."
Not so sure about that. Many farmers have been living off of subsidies for a couple of generations. Especially dairy farmers. Probably corn, soy and wheat as well.
"For example, while the administration recognizes the value of free trade in agriculture, it is determined to “protect” the auto industry. The new trade pact contains a high wage clause that says “between 40% percent and 45% of auto content must be produced by workers earning at least $16 dollars an hour.”
That's pretty sad. $16/hr for a factory job which requires almost zero skills while "semi-skilled"(I call it skilled) auto repair techs outside of the cities have a hard time making that much.
What about boat builders or any other similar manufacturing job? No love for them even though they do the same type of work?
One flaw about President Trump is that he thinks of auto manufacturing as some kind of American icon but unfortunately, I think those days are long gone. Everyone makes cars now and the whole bailout thing kind of killed the romanticism.