Trump Signs U.S.M.C.A. Into Law

Gordon Hanson, an economist at the Harvard Kennedy School, said that studies have found that average incomes rose in all three countries as a result of the trade deal, though by a small magnitude. But the deal’s benefits were very unevenly distributed around the United States, he said.

“We can certainly find places where jobs are lost as a result of increased trade with Mexico, as well as places where jobs were gained as a result of increased trade with Mexico,” Mr. Hanson said.

The government programs that were designed to help workers adjust to these changes proved to be merely a Band-Aid for a deep wound that never healed. And NAFTA became a target of labor unions, many Democrats, and ultimately the president.

The Trump administration began its renegotiation of NAFTA in August 2017 with harsh words for Canada and Mexico, saying that the pact had “fundamentally failed many, many Americans and needs major improvement.”

Mr. Trump’s advisers initially said they would wrap up talks by the end of 2017, but negotiations lingered well into the next year as officials from all three countries scrabbled over issues like dairy-market access, federal-government contracts, and systems for settling trade disputes. Business groups were deeply alarmed by several of Mr. Trump’s proposals, including the idea of injecting a “sunset provision” into the deal that could cause it to automatically expire.

The Trump administration used aggressive tactics on Canada and Mexico, placing tariffs on their steel and aluminum and threatening to tax their cars as well. In the final stages of negotiations, when the United States was at odds with Canada over issues like agriculture, he threatened to turn NAFTA into a bilateral deal with Mexico, leaving Canada out entirely.

In November 2018, Mr. Trump joined the leaders of Canada and Mexico in signing the revised deal at a meeting in Buenos Aires. But he still faced an uphill path to get the pact approved in Congress, particularly the Democratic-controlled House of Representatives.

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/29/business/economy/trump-signs-usmca-new-nafta-into-law.html?emc=rss&partner=rss