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Trading Up? What Trump's NAFTA Could Look Like

Trucks travel on an overpass to and from the World Trade Bridge, in Laredo, Texas in Nov. 2016. Trump’s campaign promise to abandon the North American Free Trade Agreement helped win over Rust Belt voters, but the idea is unnerving to many people in cities on the U.S.-Mexico border. (Eric Gay/AP)
Trucks travel on an overpass to and from the World Trade Bridge, in Laredo, Texas in Nov. 2016. Trump’s campaign promise to abandon the North American Free Trade Agreement helped win over Rust Belt voters, but the idea is unnerving to many people in cities on the U.S.-Mexico border. (Eric Gay/AP)

With guest host Jane Clayson.

What might a rewritten NAFTA look like? That’s a loaded question. We’ll ask at home and across the borders.

Not everybody likes NAFTA, the big trade deal between Mexico, Canada and the United States –just ask lumber producers in Maine or dairy farmers in Wisconsin.  President Trump has said he’ll pull the US out of the treaty.  But after Mexico’s president and Canada’s Prime Minister spoke nicely to him, he said he might renegotiate.  So is it time for NAFTA 2.0?  This hour, On Point:  Making NAFTA better. — Jane Clayson

Guests

Andrew Mayeda, reporter for Bloomberg News covering trade. ( @amayeda )

Gary Hufbauer, senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics. Former deputy assistant secretary for international trade and investment policy at the US Treasury.

Arturo Sarukhan, former Mexican ambassador to the United States. Former deputy assistant secretary for inter-American affairs. Fellow at the Brookings Institution. ( @Arturo_Sarukhan )

Lawrence Herman, Canadian trade lawyer and farmer diplomat. Senior Fellow at C.D. Howe Institute. ( @lherman8 )

 

From The Reading List

Associated Press: Trump Says US Won’t Leave NAFTA — For Now: “President Donald Trump said he has told the leaders of Mexico and Canada that he will not pull out of the North American Free Trade Agreement at this time, but could still withdraw if he concludes a renegotiated pact is not ‘a fair deal for all.'”

The New York Times: Revisiting NAFTA: The Stakes for Key Industries: “A severe shock to Nafta could put as many as 31,000 automotive jobs in jeopardy in the United States, according to the research organization. And there are domestic politics to consider: Michigan, a state that helped Mr. Trump win the election, could be among those hit hardest if the current terms are upended, because of its concentration of vehicle production and engineering jobs.”

Bloomberg News: Trudeau Defends Dairy Subsidies After Trump Vows US Farmer Aid: “U.S. dairy groups appealed to Trump for help after Canada recently introduced a new policy that gives the country’s producers an incentive to buy domestic supplies of ultra-filtered milk, a concentrated ingredient used to boost protein content in cheese and yogurt. American producers say the policy violates trade agreements and exacerbates a glut of milk on the American side of the border. Canada has regularly said it’s willing to renegotiate NAFTA and that certain parts of the pact could use an update.”

Copyright 2020 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

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