Thread: Lawmakers want to repeal NAFTA

Democratic Lawmaker Leads Bipartisan Effort to Repeal NAFTA

A Democratic congressman from Mississippi introduced bipartisan legislation Thursday that would provide for the withdrawal of the United States from the North American Free Trade Agreement, or NAFTA.

Rep. Gene Taylor, who also serves on the House Armed Services Committee, called the 29 percent loss of jobs in US manufacturing since 1993 a matter of national defense and pointed to a number of companies who have moved their production to Mexico as cause for concern.

The agreement was signed by the governments of the United States, Canada and Mexico and implemented in 1994, and was designed to promote free trade between the three North American countries.

Twenty-six members of Congress have already signed onto the plan to abandon NAFTA, including Michigan Democratic Rep. Bart Stupak.

"The trade deficit with Mexico and Canada has quadrupled since NAFTA went into effect," he said.

Indeed, lawmakers came armed with numbers to support their argument -- figures that showed the U.S. enjoyed a $1.7 billion dollar trade surplus with Mexico in 1993, before NAFTA, compared to a $47.5 billion dollar trade deficit with Mexico in 2009.

President Obama criticized NAFTA during the 2008 presidential election, insisting, "trade policies are not sustainable if they favor the few, rather than the many."

But the administration has so far been reluctant to follow through on any threats to withdraw from the agreement.

Asked why the legislation was introduced now after similar efforts have failed in the past, Taylor said, "At a time when 10 to 12 percent of the American people are unemployed, I think Congress has an obligation to put people back to work."
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2010/03 ... itics%2529

I think that the Mexicans want to get out of this too. It has hurt them as much as it has us. Maybe they would stay home. I don;t want to seem protectionist, but we need to do something. Stop outsourcing, quit letting so many immigrants come here and bring our jobs and companies home. It will do no good, however, if they don't quit regulating and taxing.

Reminds me of when Ross Perot was running for president and kept saying there would be a 'great sucking sound of jobs leaving' (or something like that) due to NAFTA.

Yep he sure did Jean. On Larry King Live when Al Gore himself the salesman of NAFTA was trying to pitch it as a great thing. Ross even got a little miffed with how old Al was being interuptively rude, and shut him up like a dad with an out of line child. But Ross was explaining how jobs went from Canada to the States due to the wage difference, and he warned that with NAFTA in place, you will hear the suckin' sound as jobs leave the country for Mexico. Trouble is, the Mexican people began organizing and complaining about low wages and long hours, so the jobs were shifted to Asia where the use of slave labor is common practice.

agrneydgrl,

Don't worry about sounding protectionist. Actually for a very long time this country used protective tariffs to keep cheap foreign imports from undercutting our better quality domestically produced products. It is only through propaganda that it is made bad. Why? Because if we used them again, cheap cheesey imports would cost as much as if we produced it domestically. Businesses don't like that. They are drunk with windfall profits from the cheap labor overseas, and they don't want to have move back in country and have to pay a real wage again and lose those huge profits. That's one of the reasons I would prefer a tariff based tax system like the one that was successful for over 130 years and funded the government without digging into the people's pockets directly.

YIPPEE! YIPPEE! YIPPEE!

This is great news. As a Republican, I ask every Republican in the House of Representatives to sign on to this bill when it gets its bill number tomorrow because protected trade was a founding principle of our party and a crucial one to perpetuate for the prosperity of the American People and the sustainability of the United States.

Originally Posted by agrneydgrl

I think that the Mexicans want to get out of this too. It has hurt them as much as it has us. Maybe they would stay home. I don;t want to seem protectionist, but we need to do something. Stop outsourcing, quit letting so many immigrants come here and bring our jobs and companies home. It will do no good, however, if they don't quit regulating and taxing.

There is nothing wrong with protectionism. Our country was founded on it, the Republican Party was founded on it, the United States grew to be the greatest economic superpower the world has ever known as a result of it and within 15 years Free Trade has destroyed US, bankrupted US, collapsed our economy.

We don't want to be isolationists, because we want to conduct lots of international trade that benefits our nation on a balanced basis so that what money goes out in imports comes back in through exports and hopefully now and then have some surpluses, but protectionists we must be always and forever, because it's a law of the universe, "if you don't protect it, you will lose it."

I realize the Free Traders have tried to make the word Protectionist a dirty word, but it isn't. It is the keystone to our economic survival.

Originally Posted by topsecret10

Democratic Lawmaker Leads Bipartisan Effort to Repeal NAFTA

A Democratic congressman from Mississippi introduced bipartisan legislation Thursday that would provide for the withdrawal of the United States from the North American Free Trade Agreement, or NAFTA.

Rep. Gene Taylor, who also serves on the House Armed Services Committee, called the 29 percent loss of jobs in US manufacturing since 1993 a matter of national defense and pointed to a number of companies who have moved their production to Mexico as cause for concern.

The agreement was signed by the governments of the United States, Canada and Mexico and implemented in 1994, and was designed to promote free trade between the three North American countries.

Twenty-six members of Congress have already signed onto the plan to abandon NAFTA, including Michigan Democratic Rep. Bart Stupak.

"The trade deficit with Mexico and Canada has quadrupled since NAFTA went into effect," he said.

Indeed, lawmakers came armed with numbers to support their argument -- figures that showed the U.S. enjoyed a $1.7 billion dollar trade surplus with Mexico in 1993, before NAFTA, compared to a $47.5 billion dollar trade deficit with Mexico in 2009.

President Obama criticized NAFTA during the 2008 presidential election, insisting, "trade policies are not sustainable if they favor the few, rather than the many."

But the administration has so far been reluctant to follow through on any threats to withdraw from the agreement.

Asked why the legislation was introduced now after similar efforts have failed in the past, Taylor said, "At a time when 10 to 12 percent of the American people are unemployed, I think Congress has an obligation to put people back to work."
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2010/03 ... itics%2529

Right, plus elections are right around the corner...saying isn't the same as doing...and these politicians sure love to say lots of things...and do something different..

Kathyet

This is great news. As a Republican, I ask every Republican in the House of Representatives to sign on to this bill when it gets its bill number tomorrow because protected trade was a founding principle of our party and a crucial one to perpetuate for the prosperity of the American People and the sustainability of the United States.

I agree with you, Judy. but remember, it was the Republicans who pushed NAFTA through, and then pushed CAFTA through. I hope the Congress will get us out of both NAFTA and CAFTA. What is also necessary is a total review of ALL so-called free trade agreements. What is absolutely necessary is an end to the fast track process for voting on trade agreements. If we do not do that, within one or two election cycles, even if NAFTA and CAFTA were rescinded, I think we would be heading right back into it. Fast track makes it extremely difficult to weed out the worst parts of trade agreements and to hold our reps accountable.

Originally Posted by 4thHorseman

This is great news. As a Republican, I ask every Republican in the House of Representatives to sign on to this bill when it gets its bill number tomorrow because protected trade was a founding principle of our party and a crucial one to perpetuate for the prosperity of the American People and the sustainability of the United States.

I agree with you, Judy. but remember, it was the Republicans who pushed NAFTA through, and then pushed CAFTA through. I hope the Congress will get us out of both NAFTA and CAFTA. What is also necessary is a total review of ALL so-called free trade agreements. What is absolutely necessary is an end to the fast track process for voting on trade agreements. If we do not do that, within one or two election cycles, even if NAFTA and CAFTA were rescinded, I think we would be heading right back into it. Fast track makes it extremely difficult to weed out the worst parts of trade agreements and to hold our reps accountable.

Absolutely. Our Republican Party has been invaded by some people who used our political organization to advance their own causes without regard to our party principles, our party history and the best interest of the American People. When you see a Republican touting "Free Trade" you just call them what they are, either a "Free Trade Traitor" or a "Stupid Idiot". Bush I started this with NAFTA. Bush II continued it with CAFTA and many others.

Either they are not true Republicans or they were too stupid to know the difference between the terms "free market", a domestic commerce policy and "free trade" which is a suicidal foreign trade policy.

Either way, we can not allow Free Trade Traitors into the US Congress, the White House, Governorships or State General Assemblies.

Organizations like Club for Growth and Dick Armey's FreedomWorks are both Free Trade Treason organizations. Be diligent and vigilant this election, fellow Americans, and distance yourselves from any organization that touts "expanded free trade". They are the Globalist Pawns to bankrupt the United States through Free Trade Treason, even if they are doing so unwittingly, which I believe is the case in many instances. But stupid is just as dangerous as evil, we can allow neither one in our governments at any level.

And I challenge the media to delve into discussions about the meanings of the terms "free markets" and "free trade". "Free markets" refers to our own markets, within our jurisdiction, and is our free enterprise system, which as everyone knows is highly regulated, managed and controlled in many aspects from labor to environmental regulations with nothing "free" about it except the freedom to participate or not, most of which raise our standard of living for our workers, grow our economy, provide incentive to investors, all while protecting our consumers, citizens and environment.

"Free Trade Treason" is the free entry of foreign produced goods and services produced by slave labor, low standards of living, socialism, communism and highly polluting operations with such vast differences than how our products are produced that there is no way in hell our producers and employers could ever compete in "free trade"without bankrupting our nation, destroying our quality of life and turning us into the world's largest Banana Republic.

The Bushes were wrong and anyone who followed them down this free trade path to destruction was too. So it's time to wake up, turn around, and follow the path of reasonable protectionism that made the United States the greatest economic superpower the world has ever known.

It's time to get back in the race to top and out of this dive to the bottom and reasonable sensible protected trade policies will do that.

Originally Posted by Judy

I challenge the media to delve into discussions about the meanings of the terms "free markets" and "free trade". "Free markets" refers to our own markets, within our jurisdiction, and is our free enterprise system, which as everyone knows is highly regulated, managed and controlled in many aspects from labor to environmental regulations with nothing "free" about it except the freedom to participate or not, most of which raise our standard of living for our workers, grow our economy, provide incentive to investors, all while protecting our consumers, citizens and environment.

It's time to get back in the race to top and out of this dive to the bottom and reasonable sensible protected trade policies will do that.

+1