Thread: U.S. ambassador to Mexico to resign amid tense bilateral relations

Originally Posted by jtdc

It's called "winning!"

Yes, CAFTA turned out to be a winner for the US. They purchase over $7 billion a year more from the US than the US buys from them, giving the US a trade surplus, what we want.

Originally Posted by Judy

Because we have a $7 billion trade surplus with CAFTA-DR with surpluses in 5 of the 6 countries, the only trade deficit country is Nicaragua. Why would we want to terminate CAFTA-DR at this point? No reason.

Trump's got this, MW. Let him do his job.

There is lots of reasons to terminate CAFTA. Information is knowledge:

The NAFTA-CAFTA Legacy:Failed Trade Policy That Drove Millions From Their Homes

President Trump is scapegoating Latin American immigrants for the economic insecurity facing many Americans with his racist attacks on Mexicans and xenophobic obsession with building a wall along our southern border. But itis the same U.S. trade policies that harm working people here that also have left many in Latin America with no options but migration as they struggle to feed and care for their families. The North American Free Trade Agreement(NAFTA) crushed small farms in Mexico, displacing millions in rural communities. Pacts that followed, such as the Central America Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) and Free Trade Agreements with Peru and Colombia, destroyed livelihoods and devastated communities throughout Latin America. Many of the immigrants Trump now attacks have experienced some of the worst damage caused by our current trade policy.

NAFTA was negotiated by the George H.W. Bush administration between the United States, Mexico, and Canada,and passed by the Bill Clinton administration. More than two decades of NAFTA have devastated Mexico’s rural economy and destroyed many small and medium-sized businesses in Mexico. With millions of Mexicans displaced from rural communities competing for the hundreds of thousands of manufacturing jobs that relocated from the United States under NAFTA, many found no work. For many who did, wages remained pitifully low. These factors
generated enormous pressures for working-age Mexicans to attempt the dangerous journey to the United States. In NAFTA’s first seven years, Mexican migration to the United States more than doubled, surging 108 percent.

The George W. Bush administration then negotiated an expansion of the failed NAFTA model with five Central American nations and the Dominican Republic called CAFTA. CAFTA’s proponents promised it would create economic opportunities, reduce gang and drug-related violence in Central America and thus diminish the flow of migration to the United States. The opposite occurred. Rural communities were gutted as exports of subsidized U.S.agricultural products wiped out local farmers. The displaced sought short-lived apparel assembly jobs – many of which then vanished with production shifting to Vietnam and other countries. Gang and drug-related violence in Central America has reached record highs and forced migration from the region has surged. The waves of unaccompanied Central American children arriving at the U.S. southern border spotlighted the social and economic devastation of the region after a decade of CAFTA.

Mexican Immigration to the United States Doubled After NAFTA

Former Mexican president Carlos Salinas infamously said that the U.S. choice with NAFTA was between“accepting Mexican tomatoes or Mexican migrants that will harvest them in the United States.” Immigration from Mexico to the United States was stable before NAFTA. Millions of Mexican families lived in rural villages farming plots of land called “ejidos” that had been made available through the Mexican Revolution’s land reforms. This land could not be sold or seized for debt. But a U.S. condition for Mexican participation in NAFTA was changes to these rules in Mexico’s Constitution so as to allow sale and consolidation of this land into large plots that could be acquired by foreign firms.

At the same time, NAFTA phased out Mexico’s tariffs on corn. Before NAFTA, Mexico only imported corn when a drought or other problems left domestic supplies short. After NAFTA slashed Mexico’s corn tariffs, but left U.S.farm subsidies intact, imported U.S. corn flooded Mexican markets. Within several years, the price paid to Mexican farmers for the corn they produced plummeted by 66 percent, forcing many to abandon farming. A New Republic exposé noted: “as cheap American foodstuffs flooded Mexico’s markets and as U.S. agribusiness moved in, 1.1million small farmers – and 1.4 million other Mexicans dependent upon the farm sector – were driven out of work between 1993 and 2005. Wages dropped so precipitously that today the income of a farm laborer is one-third that of what it was before NAFTA.” The exposé noted that, as jobs and wages fell, many rural Mexicans joined the ranks of the 12 million undocumented immigrants competing for low-wage jobs in the United States.

The number of undocumented immigrants from Mexico who are living in the United States more than doubled under NAFTA, from about 2.9 million in 1995 to a peak of 6.9 million in 2007, just prior to the global financial crisis. The number of undocumented immigrants in the United States sharply declined when the number of available jobs plummeted as the economy fell into the Great Recession. As the U.S. economy has slowly recovered, the number of undocumented immigrants in the U.S. has leveled off at 5.8 million.

Under NAFTA, Mexico’s Jobs and Wage Levels Fell While Prices and Poverty Rose

NAFTA’s results have been much worse than predicted by NAFTA’s opponents. Real average annual wages inMexico have fallen below pre-NAFTA levels contrary to the promises by NAFTA supporters that the pact wouldraise Mexicans’ living standards. Instead real wages in Mexico have dropped 9 percent since NAFTA. This meansthat the average Mexican worker is making 14,000 pesos, or $1,500, less per year today than in the year before NAFTA. Today, over half of the Mexican population, and over 60 percent of the rural population, still fall below the poverty line. The World Bank, a major promoter of trade liberalization, estimates that the percentage of Mexico’s rural population who earned less than the minimum needed for a basic diet grew by nearly 50 percent in the first four years of NAFTA alone.

In addition to the massive displacement in agriculture, an estimated 28,000 small and medium-sized Mexican businesses were destroyed in NAFTA’s first four years (many in retail, food processing and light manufacturing that were displaced by NAFTA’s new opening for U.S. big box retailers that sold goods imported from Asia).Meanwhile, the new foreign-investor privileges provided by NAFTA eased the way for footloose multinational corporations to move the manufacturing jobs that left the United States for Mexico in the initial years of NAFTA back out of Mexico to even lower wage venues. After China’s entry into the WTO in 2001, many corporations abandoned Mexico and its then $5 average manufacturing wage per hour to take advantage of China’s $1 average manufacturing wage per hour, causing the number of manufacturing jobs in Mexico to plummet.

Meanwhile, consumer prices in Mexico during the NAFTA era have jumped as the deal eliminated key Mexican food security and consumer price regulations. For instance, the price of tortillas – Mexico’s staple food – shot up 279 percent in the pact’s first ten years, even as the price paid to Mexican corn farmers plummeted. This would seem entirely contrary to free trade theory, which predicts that gains from liberalization come on the import side as all consumers enjoy lower prices, while injury only occurs to those in sectors directly displaced by imports.Yet, NAFTA included service sector and investment rules that facilitated consolidation of grain trading, milling,baking and retail so that in short order the relatively few remaining large firms dominating these activities were able to raise consumer prices and reap enormous profits as corn costs simultaneously declined.

CAFTA’s Farmer-Displacing Rules Feed Central America’s Forced Migration Crisis

After observing the devastation caused in Mexico’s countryside by NAFTA, most Latin America countries rejected the failed NAFTA model. This became evident with the 2003 demise of a U.S.-proposed Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA), a proposed hemisphere-wide NAFTA expansion. But the big pharmaceutical, agribusiness,oil and retail corporations that reaped increasing profits under the NAFTA model wanted more. Plan B for the Bush II administration was to seek NAFTA-clone deals with the remaining “coalition of the willing” countries in Latin America.

Among those deals was CAFTA. It included the same devastating NAFTA-style agricultural provisions. Oxfam predicted that up to 1.5 million people whose livelihoods are connected to Central American rice production alone could face displacement as CAFTA’s agriculture terms were implemented. Central American immigrant advocacy groups like CARECEN, CONGUATE, and SANN raised such concerns early in the process, but were ignored by the Bush administration. CAFTA faced fierce resistance by U.S. Latino organizations, including the League of United Latin American Citizens and the Labor Council for Latin American Advancement, and much of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus. CAFTA passed Congress in 2005 by one vote.

The warnings that CAFTA would spur further displacement have unfortunately proven accurate. Under CAFTA,family farmers in Honduras, El Salvador, and Guatemala – the three countries experiencing high rates of violence and forced migration – have been inundated with a doubling of agricultural imports (mainly grains) from U.S.agribusinesses. While these exports represent a small fraction of U.S. agricultural firms’ business, they represent a big threat to the Central America’s small farmers who do not have the subsidies, technology, and land to compete with the influx of grain. And contrary to promised gains, most small-scale farmers in those countries have not seen a boost in exports of their products to the United States. Agricultural exports from El Salvador to the United States under CAFTA have actually grown one-third slower than global agricultural exports to the United States. And Honduras’s agricultural exports to the U.S. have been swamped by the surge in agricultural imports.Honduras went from being a net agricultural exporter to the United States in the six straight years before CAFTA to being a net agricultural importer from the United States in the six straight years after the deal took effect.

Some CAFTA proponents understood that Central America’s small-scale farmers would not fare well under the deal, but promised that displaced workers could find new jobs in the garment assembly factories, or maquilas, producing clothing for export to the United States. These factories are not only notorious for abusing workers’rights and paying low wages, but for leaving a country as soon as cheaper wages can be found in another low wage country. Indeed, apparel exports to the United States from each of the three countries in question – Honduras,El Salvador, and Guatemala – were lower in 2015 than in the year before CAFTA took effect. Honduras’ apparel exports to the United States fell more than 15 percent in CAFTA’s first 10 years. Guatemala has seen an early 35 percent downfall, contributing to the economic instability feeding the region’s violence and migration.

Welcome Immigrants, Replace NAFTA: The Need for a More Humane Trade Policy

The humanitarian crisis wrought by U.S. trade and economic policies in the Americas requires that we replacethose policies, not wall ourselves off from the people who have borne their brunt. U.S. policymakers should rejectpolicies that unfairly target immigrant members of our community, and instead work to replace NAFTA and otherfailed trade deals so that they raise the living standards in all countries.

https://www.citizen.org/system/files...march-2017.pdf


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http://citizen.typepad.com/eyesontra...on-crisis.html

Originally Posted by jtdc

It's called "winning!"

Actually, if fighting illegal immigration is important to you, CAFTA isn't a winner for us. CAFTA has increased illegal immigration into the United States. Our small surplus (we've had deficit years too) in trade under the Central America Free Trade Agreement does not cancel out its negatives.

CAFTA is an overall loser for us.

CAFTA didn't cause the migration issue from Central America. Drug cartels did that. And Trump will stop that as soon as Congress changes that stupid law about the UAC's which has nothing to do with CAFTA-DR. Meanwhile, American Workers can enjoy their jobs that CAFTA-DR created for them.

Yes, NAFTA caused both huge trade deficits with Mexico as well as illegal immigration. NAFTA is a terrible deal that needs to be renegotiated or terminated. That's in progress now, and should move along more quickly when a new Ambassador is named. Ambassadors don't have much authority or power, but they run their mouths at cocktail parties and such, so if they're not on board with the agenda, they are a deterrent to winning our goals and need to be replaced. So glad Roberta is giving up and getting out. Good riddance.

Yes, information is knowledge.

Originally Posted by Judy

Yes, CAFTA turned out to be a winner for the US. They purchase over $7 billion a year more from the US than the US buys from them, giving the US a trade surplus, what we want.

The 7 billion number you quote is only for 2017. I can't believe you're totally ignoring the negatives of CAFTA to praise the minimal surplus we receive from it.

Trade in Goods with CAFTA-DR

Available years:

• 2017 | 2016 | 2015 | 2014 | 2013 | 2012 | 2011 | 2010 | 2009 | 2008 | 2007 | 2006 | 2005 |
• Notes

2017 : U.S. trade in goods with CAFTA-DR

NOTE: All figures are in millions of U.S. dollars on a nominal basis, not seasonally adjusted unless otherwise specified. Details may not equal totals due to rounding. Table reflects only those months for which there was trade.

Month	Exports	Imports	Balance
January 2017	2,454.8	1,595.7	859.0
February 2017	2,428.6	1,929.5	499.1
March 2017	2,790.5	2,225.1	565.4
April 2017	2,351.8	1,911.0	440.8
May 2017	2,407.0	2,205.4	201.7
June 2017	2,665.8	2,075.9	589.9
July 2017	2,741.4	2,035.2	706.2
August 2017	2,489.6	2,124.2	365.4
September 2017	2,180.9	1,848.3	332.7
October 2017	2,823.2	1,962.2	861.0
November 2017	2,922.2	2,014.9	907.3
December 2017	2,463.1	1,713.7	749.3
TOTAL 2017	30,718.9	23,641.1	7,077.9

2016 : U.S. trade in goods with CAFTA-DR

NOTE: All figures are in millions of U.S. dollars on a nominal basis, not seasonally adjusted unless otherwise specified. Details may not equal totals due to rounding. Table reflects only those months for which there was trade.

Month	Exports	Imports	Balance
January 2016	2,180.3	1,485.8	694.5
February 2016	2,123.5	1,906.4	217.1
March 2016	2,516.3	2,095.8	420.5
April 2016	2,270.8	1,954.6	316.2
May 2016	2,504.9	2,121.6	383.4
June 2016	2,411.9	2,099.1	312.8
July 2016	2,356.9	1,975.0	381.8
August 2016	2,485.0	2,135.8	349.3
September 2016	2,426.1	1,958.2	467.9
October 2016	2,413.6	1,842.7	570.9
November 2016	2,557.2	1,956.9	600.3
December 2016	2,462.3	1,823.7	638.6
TOTAL 2016	28,708.7	23,355.6	5,353.1

2015 : U.S. trade in goods with CAFTA-DR

NOTE: All figures are in millions of U.S. dollars on a nominal basis, not seasonally adjusted unless otherwise specified. Details may not equal totals due to rounding. Table reflects only those months for which there was trade.

Month	Exports	Imports	Balance
January 2015	2,276.1	1,646.1	630.0
February 2015	2,153.5	1,953.0	200.6
March 2015	2,491.5	2,182.7	308.8
April 2015	2,414.0	2,045.1	368.9
May 2015	2,567.2	2,045.6	521.6
June 2015	2,347.9	2,042.7	305.2
July 2015	2,363.1	2,182.5	180.6
August 2015	2,512.7	1,998.4	514.3
September 2015	2,294.2	2,004.3	289.9
October 2015	2,740.8	1,944.1	796.8
November 2015	2,473.1	1,841.1	632.0
December 2015	2,078.9	1,869.5	209.3
TOTAL 2015	28,713.0	23,755.1	4,957.8

2014 : U.S. trade in goods with CAFTA-DR

NOTE: All figures are in millions of U.S. dollars on a nominal basis, not seasonally adjusted unless otherwise specified. Details may not equal totals due to rounding. Table reflects only those months for which there was trade.

Month	Exports	Imports	Balance
January 2014	2,492.6	1,930.6	561.9
February 2014	2,468.1	2,392.3	75.8
March 2014	2,936.6	2,660.2	276.4
April 2014	2,647.3	2,645.4	1.9
May 2014	2,830.7	2,559.4	271.3
June 2014	2,598.0	2,651.3	-53.3
July 2014	2,527.7	2,502.9	24.8
August 2014	2,797.3	2,458.7	338.5
September 2014	2,387.4	2,252.1	135.3
October 2014	2,724.1	2,331.4	392.8
November 2014	2,562.1	1,925.9	636.2
December 2014	2,224.4	2,101.3	123.1
TOTAL 2014	31,196.2	28,411.6	2,784.7

2013 : U.S. trade in goods with CAFTA-DR

NOTE: All figures are in millions of U.S. dollars on a nominal basis, not seasonally adjusted unless otherwise specified. Details may not equal totals due to rounding. Table reflects only those months for which there was trade.

Month	Exports	Imports	Balance
January 2013	2,284.0	2,090.9	193.0
February 2013	2,378.9	2,381.3	-2.3
March 2013	2,759.5	2,576.3	183.2
April 2013	2,235.5	2,439.8	-204.3
May 2013	2,535.8	2,858.9	-323.1
June 2013	2,401.4	2,483.4	-82.0
July 2013	2,362.1	2,618.8	-256.7
August 2013	2,623.8	2,673.7	-50.0
September 2013	2,530.4	2,674.0	-143.6
October 2013	2,607.3	2,619.2	-11.9
November 2013	2,557.3	2,282.4	274.9
December 2013	2,390.0	2,434.5	-44.5
TOTAL 2013	29,666.0	30,133.3	-467.4

2012 : U.S. trade in goods with CAFTA-DR

NOTE: All figures are in millions of U.S. dollars on a nominal basis, not seasonally adjusted unless otherwise specified. Details may not equal totals due to rounding. Table reflects only those months for which there was trade.

Month	Exports	Imports	Balance
January 2012	2,437.9	2,189.5	248.4
February 2012	2,514.3	2,482.7	31.6
March 2012	2,773.5	2,824.1	-50.6
April 2012	2,561.7	2,548.7	12.9
May 2012	2,511.3	2,851.2	-339.9
June 2012	2,514.6	2,632.6	-118.0
July 2012	2,320.9	2,660.2	-339.3
August 2012	2,388.3	2,706.9	-318.7
September 2012	2,411.3	2,571.5	-160.2
October 2012	2,517.9	2,534.9	-17.0
November 2012	2,356.8	2,485.9	-129.1
December 2012	2,583.1	2,403.1	180.1
TOTAL 2012	29,891.6	30,891.3	-999.7

2011 : U.S. trade in goods with CAFTA-DR

NOTE: All figures are in millions of U.S. dollars on a nominal basis, not seasonally adjusted unless otherwise specified. Details may not equal totals due to rounding. Table reflects only those months for which there was trade.

Month	Exports	Imports	Balance
January 2011	2,297.3	1,817.3	480.0
February 2011	2,201.2	2,086.3	114.9
March 2011	2,708.1	2,506.9	201.2
April 2011	2,629.3	2,424.0	205.3
May 2011	2,718.1	2,447.8	270.4
June 2011	2,563.6	2,650.3	-86.7
July 2011	2,703.9	2,488.7	215.1
August 2011	2,538.6	2,593.8	-55.2
September 2011	2,336.3	2,569.5	-233.2
October 2011	2,501.1	2,486.7	14.4
November 2011	2,607.0	2,336.4	270.6
December 2011	2,368.0	2,209.0	159.0
TOTAL 2011	30,172.6	28,616.7	1,555.9

2010 : U.S. trade in goods with CAFTA-DR

NOTE: All figures are in millions of U.S. dollars on a nominal basis, not seasonally adjusted unless otherwise specified. Details may not equal totals due to rounding. Table reflects only those months for which there was trade.

Month	Exports	Imports	Balance
January 2010	1,721.6	1,466.3	255.3
February 2010	1,866.3	1,662.7	203.6
March 2010	2,183.7	2,196.1	-12.5
April 2010	2,137.5	1,880.1	257.4
May 2010	2,144.1	2,023.0	121.1
June 2010	1,957.2	2,129.4	-172.2
July 2010	1,910.9	2,060.1	-149.2
August 2010	1,907.9	2,196.0	-288.1
September 2010	2,021.2	2,217.0	-195.7
October 2010	2,183.0	2,086.8	96.3
November 2010	2,109.8	2,026.8	82.9
December 2010	2,112.8	2,093.6	19.1
TOTAL 2010	24,256.0	24,038.0	218.0

2009 : U.S. trade in goods with CAFTA-DR

NOTE: All figures are in millions of U.S. dollars on a nominal basis, not seasonally adjusted unless otherwise specified. Details may not equal totals due to rounding. Table reflects only those months for which there was trade.

Month	Exports	Imports	Balance
January 2009	1,495.4	1,037.9	457.4
February 2009	1,579.5	1,258.4	321.1
March 2009	1,656.6	1,476.3	180.3
April 2009	1,483.1	1,323.4	159.8
May 2009	1,626.2	1,386.7	239.5
June 2009	1,675.4	1,626.2	49.2
July 2009	1,676.5	1,862.6	-186.1
August 2009	1,651.7	1,707.8	-56.0
September 2009	1,604.7	1,774.9	-170.2
October 2009	1,794.9	1,849.3	-54.4
November 2009	1,896.7	1,778.5	118.2
December 2009	1,803.6	1,760.3	43.3
TOTAL 2009	19,944.3	18,842.1	1,102.2

2008 : U.S. trade in goods with CAFTA-DR

NOTE: All figures are in millions of U.S. dollars on a nominal basis, not seasonally adjusted unless otherwise specified. Details may not equal totals due to rounding. Table reflects only those months for which there was trade.

Month	Exports	Imports	Balance
January 2008	1,964.0	1,370.0	594.0
February 2008	2,049.1	1,627.0	422.0
March 2008	2,092.4	1,629.9	462.5
April 2008	2,310.0	1,746.2	563.8
May 2008	2,084.7	1,647.3	437.4
June 2008	2,209.2	1,703.1	506.2
July 2008	2,427.9	1,891.4	536.4
August 2008	2,353.5	1,626.5	727.0
September 2008	2,065.3	1,654.2	411.2
October 2008	2,234.8	1,680.1	554.7
November 2008	1,948.4	1,347.7	600.8
December 2008	1,655.5	1,428.1	227.4
TOTAL 2008	25,394.9	19,351.4	6,043.4

2007 : U.S. trade in goods with CAFTA-DR

NOTE: All figures are in millions of U.S. dollars on a nominal basis, not seasonally adjusted unless otherwise specified. Details may not equal totals due to rounding. Table reflects only those months for which there was trade.

Month	Exports	Imports	Balance
January 2007	1,681.0	1,267.7	413.2
February 2007	1,676.3	1,464.2	212.1
March 2007	1,810.4	1,709.5	100.9
April 2007	1,691.6	1,543.1	148.5
May 2007	1,829.6	1,693.6	136.0
June 2007	1,765.4	1,597.5	167.9
July 2007	1,851.6	1,645.7	205.8
August 2007	1,931.5	1,721.3	210.2
September 2007	1,762.3	1,515.6	246.7
October 2007	2,133.7	1,640.4	493.3
November 2007	2,114.0	1,531.8	582.2
December 2007	2,146.7	1,412.0	734.7
TOTAL 2007	22,394.0	18,742.4	3,651.6

2006 : U.S. trade in goods with CAFTA-DR

NOTE: All figures are in millions of U.S. dollars on a nominal basis, not seasonally adjusted unless otherwise specified. Details may not equal totals due to rounding. Table reflects only those months for which there was trade.

Month	Exports	Imports	Balance
January 2006	1,453.9	1,241.9	212.0
February 2006	1,445.1	1,481.8	-36.6
March 2006	1,681.9	1,712.6	-30.7
April 2006	1,577.9	1,287.2	290.6
May 2006	1,682.5	1,644.1	38.3
June 2006	1,696.4	1,717.1	-20.7
July 2006	1,600.7	1,597.9	2.8
August 2006	1,655.9	1,672.5	-16.6
September 2006	1,661.3	1,588.2	73.2
October 2006	1,809.4	1,612.8	196.6
November 2006	1,727.8	1,558.3	169.5
December 2006	1,592.2	1,464.6	127.6
TOTAL 2006	19,585.1	18,579.1	1,005.9

2005 : U.S. trade in goods with CAFTA-DR

NOTE: All figures are in millions of U.S. dollars on a nominal basis, not seasonally adjusted unless otherwise specified. Details may not equal totals due to rounding. Table reflects only those months for which there was trade.

Month	Exports	Imports	Balance
January 2005	1,263.2	1,177.7	85.5
February 2005	1,242.7	1,429.4	-186.7
March 2005	1,414.3	1,711.6	-297.3
April 2005	1,343.7	1,457.2	-113.5
May 2005	1,479.8	1,575.2	-95.4
June 2005	1,492.4	1,682.1	-189.7
July 2005	1,396.8	1,443.4	-46.6
August 2005	1,431.1	1,564.8	-133.8
September 2005	1,340.6	1,512.7	-172.1
October 2005	1,447.7	1,389.8	57.9
November 2005	1,549.4	1,598.7	-49.2
December 2005	1,484.4	1,532.5	-48.2
TOTAL 2005	16,886.2	18,075.1	-1,188.9

https://www.census.gov/foreign-trade/balance/c0017.html

Originally Posted by MW

Actually, if fighting illegal immigration is important to you, CAFTA isn't a winner for us. CAFTA has increased illegal immigration into the United States. Our small surplus (we've had deficit years too) in trade under the Central America Free Trade Agreement does not cancel out its negatives.

CAFTA is an overall loser for us.

It's a very small trade agreement but it's good for American Workers, it's good for our businesses and manufacturers, too. Yes, out of the 14 years of CAFTA, there were 3 years that ran small deficits, the first year 2005 under Bush, then 2012 and 2013 under Obama. Under Trump, our sales to CAFTA-DR have soared!!

So, there's no reason to waste resources on CAFTA trade deal at this point, because it benefits the US as things stand now. When Trump gets the things he needs from Congress to fix the illegal immigration problem, that will also fix the illegal migration from Central America.

But if you want to oppose it that's fine. I opposed it at the beginning, but it's worked out for the US after all, so it was a better constructed deal than NAFTA and actually benefits the US which is why Trump never talks about it. GW and Congress had apparently learned from the many mistakes of NAFTA.

Originally Posted by Judy

It's a very small trade agreement but it's good for American Workers, it's good for our businesses and manufacturers, too. Yes, out of the 14 years of CAFTA, there were 3 years that ran small deficits, the first year 2005 under Bush, then 2012 and 2013 under Obama. Under Trump, our sales to CAFTA-DR have soared!!

So, there's no reason to waste resources on CAFTA trade deal at this point, because it benefits the US as things stand now. When Trump gets the things he needs from Congress to fix the illegal immigration problem, that will also fix the illegal migration from Central America.

But if you want to oppose it that's fine. I opposed it at the beginning, but it's worked out for the US after all, so it was a better constructed deal than NAFTA and actually benefits the US which is why Trump never talks about it. GW and Congress had apparently learned from the many mistakes of NAFTA.

You say what you will but just like NAFTA all the evidence points to it contributing to our illegal immigration problem.

Originally Posted by MW

The 7 billion number you quote is only for 2017. I can't believe you're totally ignoring the negatives of CAFTA to praise the minimal surplus we receive from it.

Trade in Goods with CAFTA-DR

Available years:

• 2017 | 2016 | 2015 | 2014 | 2013 | 2012 | 2011 | 2010 | 2009 | 2008 | 2007 | 2006 | 2005 |
• Notes

2017 : U.S. trade in goods with CAFTA-DR

NOTE: All figures are in millions of U.S. dollars on a nominal basis, not seasonally adjusted unless otherwise specified. Details may not equal totals due to rounding. Table reflects only those months for which there was trade.

Month	Exports	Imports	Balance
January 2017	2,454.8	1,595.7	859.0
February 2017	2,428.6	1,929.5	499.1
March 2017	2,790.5	2,225.1	565.4
April 2017	2,351.8	1,911.0	440.8
May 2017	2,407.0	2,205.4	201.7
June 2017	2,665.8	2,075.9	589.9
July 2017	2,741.4	2,035.2	706.2
August 2017	2,489.6	2,124.2	365.4
September 2017	2,180.9	1,848.3	332.7
October 2017	2,823.2	1,962.2	861.0
November 2017	2,922.2	2,014.9	907.3
December 2017	2,463.1	1,713.7	749.3
TOTAL 2017	30,718.9	23,641.1	7,077.9

2016 : U.S. trade in goods with CAFTA-DR

NOTE: All figures are in millions of U.S. dollars on a nominal basis, not seasonally adjusted unless otherwise specified. Details may not equal totals due to rounding. Table reflects only those months for which there was trade.

Month	Exports	Imports	Balance
January 2016	2,180.3	1,485.8	694.5
February 2016	2,123.5	1,906.4	217.1
March 2016	2,516.3	2,095.8	420.5
April 2016	2,270.8	1,954.6	316.2
May 2016	2,504.9	2,121.6	383.4
June 2016	2,411.9	2,099.1	312.8
July 2016	2,356.9	1,975.0	381.8
August 2016	2,485.0	2,135.8	349.3
September 2016	2,426.1	1,958.2	467.9
October 2016	2,413.6	1,842.7	570.9
November 2016	2,557.2	1,956.9	600.3
December 2016	2,462.3	1,823.7	638.6
TOTAL 2016	28,708.7	23,355.6	5,353.1

2015 : U.S. trade in goods with CAFTA-DR

NOTE: All figures are in millions of U.S. dollars on a nominal basis, not seasonally adjusted unless otherwise specified. Details may not equal totals due to rounding. Table reflects only those months for which there was trade.

Month	Exports	Imports	Balance
January 2015	2,276.1	1,646.1	630.0
February 2015	2,153.5	1,953.0	200.6
March 2015	2,491.5	2,182.7	308.8
April 2015	2,414.0	2,045.1	368.9
May 2015	2,567.2	2,045.6	521.6
June 2015	2,347.9	2,042.7	305.2
July 2015	2,363.1	2,182.5	180.6
August 2015	2,512.7	1,998.4	514.3
September 2015	2,294.2	2,004.3	289.9
October 2015	2,740.8	1,944.1	796.8
November 2015	2,473.1	1,841.1	632.0
December 2015	2,078.9	1,869.5	209.3
TOTAL 2015	28,713.0	23,755.1	4,957.8

2014 : U.S. trade in goods with CAFTA-DR

NOTE: All figures are in millions of U.S. dollars on a nominal basis, not seasonally adjusted unless otherwise specified. Details may not equal totals due to rounding. Table reflects only those months for which there was trade.

Month	Exports	Imports	Balance
January 2014	2,492.6	1,930.6	561.9
February 2014	2,468.1	2,392.3	75.8
March 2014	2,936.6	2,660.2	276.4
April 2014	2,647.3	2,645.4	1.9
May 2014	2,830.7	2,559.4	271.3
June 2014	2,598.0	2,651.3	-53.3
July 2014	2,527.7	2,502.9	24.8
August 2014	2,797.3	2,458.7	338.5
September 2014	2,387.4	2,252.1	135.3
October 2014	2,724.1	2,331.4	392.8
November 2014	2,562.1	1,925.9	636.2
December 2014	2,224.4	2,101.3	123.1
TOTAL 2014	31,196.2	28,411.6	2,784.7

2013 : U.S. trade in goods with CAFTA-DR

NOTE: All figures are in millions of U.S. dollars on a nominal basis, not seasonally adjusted unless otherwise specified. Details may not equal totals due to rounding. Table reflects only those months for which there was trade.

Month	Exports	Imports	Balance
January 2013	2,284.0	2,090.9	193.0
February 2013	2,378.9	2,381.3	-2.3
March 2013	2,759.5	2,576.3	183.2
April 2013	2,235.5	2,439.8	-204.3
May 2013	2,535.8	2,858.9	-323.1
June 2013	2,401.4	2,483.4	-82.0
July 2013	2,362.1	2,618.8	-256.7
August 2013	2,623.8	2,673.7	-50.0
September 2013	2,530.4	2,674.0	-143.6
October 2013	2,607.3	2,619.2	-11.9
November 2013	2,557.3	2,282.4	274.9
December 2013	2,390.0	2,434.5	-44.5
TOTAL 2013	29,666.0	30,133.3	-467.4

2012 : U.S. trade in goods with CAFTA-DR

NOTE: All figures are in millions of U.S. dollars on a nominal basis, not seasonally adjusted unless otherwise specified. Details may not equal totals due to rounding. Table reflects only those months for which there was trade.

Month	Exports	Imports	Balance
January 2012	2,437.9	2,189.5	248.4
February 2012	2,514.3	2,482.7	31.6
March 2012	2,773.5	2,824.1	-50.6
April 2012	2,561.7	2,548.7	12.9
May 2012	2,511.3	2,851.2	-339.9
June 2012	2,514.6	2,632.6	-118.0
July 2012	2,320.9	2,660.2	-339.3
August 2012	2,388.3	2,706.9	-318.7
September 2012	2,411.3	2,571.5	-160.2
October 2012	2,517.9	2,534.9	-17.0
November 2012	2,356.8	2,485.9	-129.1
December 2012	2,583.1	2,403.1	180.1
TOTAL 2012	29,891.6	30,891.3	-999.7

2011 : U.S. trade in goods with CAFTA-DR

NOTE: All figures are in millions of U.S. dollars on a nominal basis, not seasonally adjusted unless otherwise specified. Details may not equal totals due to rounding. Table reflects only those months for which there was trade.

Month	Exports	Imports	Balance
January 2011	2,297.3	1,817.3	480.0
February 2011	2,201.2	2,086.3	114.9
March 2011	2,708.1	2,506.9	201.2
April 2011	2,629.3	2,424.0	205.3
May 2011	2,718.1	2,447.8	270.4
June 2011	2,563.6	2,650.3	-86.7
July 2011	2,703.9	2,488.7	215.1
August 2011	2,538.6	2,593.8	-55.2
September 2011	2,336.3	2,569.5	-233.2
October 2011	2,501.1	2,486.7	14.4
November 2011	2,607.0	2,336.4	270.6
December 2011	2,368.0	2,209.0	159.0
TOTAL 2011	30,172.6	28,616.7	1,555.9

2010 : U.S. trade in goods with CAFTA-DR

NOTE: All figures are in millions of U.S. dollars on a nominal basis, not seasonally adjusted unless otherwise specified. Details may not equal totals due to rounding. Table reflects only those months for which there was trade.

Month	Exports	Imports	Balance
January 2010	1,721.6	1,466.3	255.3
February 2010	1,866.3	1,662.7	203.6
March 2010	2,183.7	2,196.1	-12.5
April 2010	2,137.5	1,880.1	257.4
May 2010	2,144.1	2,023.0	121.1
June 2010	1,957.2	2,129.4	-172.2
July 2010	1,910.9	2,060.1	-149.2
August 2010	1,907.9	2,196.0	-288.1
September 2010	2,021.2	2,217.0	-195.7
October 2010	2,183.0	2,086.8	96.3
November 2010	2,109.8	2,026.8	82.9
December 2010	2,112.8	2,093.6	19.1
TOTAL 2010	24,256.0	24,038.0	218.0

2009 : U.S. trade in goods with CAFTA-DR

NOTE: All figures are in millions of U.S. dollars on a nominal basis, not seasonally adjusted unless otherwise specified. Details may not equal totals due to rounding. Table reflects only those months for which there was trade.

Month	Exports	Imports	Balance
January 2009	1,495.4	1,037.9	457.4
February 2009	1,579.5	1,258.4	321.1
March 2009	1,656.6	1,476.3	180.3
April 2009	1,483.1	1,323.4	159.8
May 2009	1,626.2	1,386.7	239.5
June 2009	1,675.4	1,626.2	49.2
July 2009	1,676.5	1,862.6	-186.1
August 2009	1,651.7	1,707.8	-56.0
September 2009	1,604.7	1,774.9	-170.2
October 2009	1,794.9	1,849.3	-54.4
November 2009	1,896.7	1,778.5	118.2
December 2009	1,803.6	1,760.3	43.3
TOTAL 2009	19,944.3	18,842.1	1,102.2

2008 : U.S. trade in goods with CAFTA-DR

NOTE: All figures are in millions of U.S. dollars on a nominal basis, not seasonally adjusted unless otherwise specified. Details may not equal totals due to rounding. Table reflects only those months for which there was trade.

Month	Exports	Imports	Balance
January 2008	1,964.0	1,370.0	594.0
February 2008	2,049.1	1,627.0	422.0
March 2008	2,092.4	1,629.9	462.5
April 2008	2,310.0	1,746.2	563.8
May 2008	2,084.7	1,647.3	437.4
June 2008	2,209.2	1,703.1	506.2
July 2008	2,427.9	1,891.4	536.4
August 2008	2,353.5	1,626.5	727.0
September 2008	2,065.3	1,654.2	411.2
October 2008	2,234.8	1,680.1	554.7
November 2008	1,948.4	1,347.7	600.8
December 2008	1,655.5	1,428.1	227.4
TOTAL 2008	25,394.9	19,351.4	6,043.4

2007 : U.S. trade in goods with CAFTA-DR

NOTE: All figures are in millions of U.S. dollars on a nominal basis, not seasonally adjusted unless otherwise specified. Details may not equal totals due to rounding. Table reflects only those months for which there was trade.

Month	Exports	Imports	Balance
January 2007	1,681.0	1,267.7	413.2
February 2007	1,676.3	1,464.2	212.1
March 2007	1,810.4	1,709.5	100.9
April 2007	1,691.6	1,543.1	148.5
May 2007	1,829.6	1,693.6	136.0
June 2007	1,765.4	1,597.5	167.9
July 2007	1,851.6	1,645.7	205.8
August 2007	1,931.5	1,721.3	210.2
September 2007	1,762.3	1,515.6	246.7
October 2007	2,133.7	1,640.4	493.3
November 2007	2,114.0	1,531.8	582.2
December 2007	2,146.7	1,412.0	734.7
TOTAL 2007	22,394.0	18,742.4	3,651.6

2006 : U.S. trade in goods with CAFTA-DR

NOTE: All figures are in millions of U.S. dollars on a nominal basis, not seasonally adjusted unless otherwise specified. Details may not equal totals due to rounding. Table reflects only those months for which there was trade.

Month	Exports	Imports	Balance
January 2006	1,453.9	1,241.9	212.0
February 2006	1,445.1	1,481.8	-36.6
March 2006	1,681.9	1,712.6	-30.7
April 2006	1,577.9	1,287.2	290.6
May 2006	1,682.5	1,644.1	38.3
June 2006	1,696.4	1,717.1	-20.7
July 2006	1,600.7	1,597.9	2.8
August 2006	1,655.9	1,672.5	-16.6
September 2006	1,661.3	1,588.2	73.2
October 2006	1,809.4	1,612.8	196.6
November 2006	1,727.8	1,558.3	169.5
December 2006	1,592.2	1,464.6	127.6
TOTAL 2006	19,585.1	18,579.1	1,005.9

2005 : U.S. trade in goods with CAFTA-DR

NOTE: All figures are in millions of U.S. dollars on a nominal basis, not seasonally adjusted unless otherwise specified. Details may not equal totals due to rounding. Table reflects only those months for which there was trade.

Month	Exports	Imports	Balance
January 2005	1,263.2	1,177.7	85.5
February 2005	1,242.7	1,429.4	-186.7
March 2005	1,414.3	1,711.6	-297.3
April 2005	1,343.7	1,457.2	-113.5
May 2005	1,479.8	1,575.2	-95.4
June 2005	1,492.4	1,682.1	-189.7
July 2005	1,396.8	1,443.4	-46.6
August 2005	1,431.1	1,564.8	-133.8
September 2005	1,340.6	1,512.7	-172.1
October 2005	1,447.7	1,389.8	57.9
November 2005	1,549.4	1,598.7	-49.2
December 2005	1,484.4	1,532.5	-48.2
TOTAL 2005	16,886.2	18,075.1	-1,188.9

https://www.census.gov/foreign-trade/balance/c0017.html

Well, because that's what the trade surplus was last year under Trump. There were trade surpluses in 10 out of the 13 years of CAFTA, and the years when there was a deficit, they were very small. I've yet to see a negative from CAFTA so far. Maybe there will be, and when or if that time comes, I'm sure Trump will deal with it. Whether other people will after Trump, I seriously doubt it, but for now CAFTA is good for the US, has been good for the US, and we'll see what happens in future years. The UAC problem from Central America preceded CAFTA, MW. Congress passed that stupid law in 2002 treating them as refugees, 3 years before CAFTA was passed. That is the cause of this migration from Central America, not CAFTA.

Judy, I'm done with this discussion because you obviously failed to even read the information I provided. I know this because if you had read it, you wouldn't continue to say there are no negatives attached to CAFTA.

Originally Posted by MW

Judy, I'm done with this discussion because you obviously failed to even read the information I provided. I know this because if you had read it, you wouldn't continue to say there are no negatives attached to CAFTA.

I read your article of opinions. The facts show a different picture.

You asked why doesn't Trump ever talk about CAFTA? Because we have trade surpluses from CAFTA-DR.