Trump lies

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The "most disastrous trade deal in history" has been changed. In name, that is. Much of it remains simply in place and the President now calls it incredible..

But when Trump told his supporters he would renegotiate Nafta, they did not think he meant he would negotiate a similar deal and call it something else. Yesterday the US president said: “I like to call this deal the United States-Mexico trade agreement; I think it’s an elegant name.” Mainly because it is not “Nafta”. Being Trump, he was quite open about what he was up to. “I think Nafta has a lot of bad connotations for the United States, because it was a ripoff.” At least, that was what he and the Republican Tea Party tendency told the voters it was, despite all the evidence that it had been good for the US economy. 

What is interesting is that all candidates running against incumbents in America condemn free trade and demand protection for American jobs, only to realise once in office that free trade is the best way to defend American jobs. Clinton was against Nafta before he was for it, and now Trump is running away from his campaign rhetoric too. 

Trump also said he wanted a “sunset clause” on his I Can’t Believe It’s Not Nafta agreement after five years, but now he has agreed the new deal will last for at least 16 years. In a way, this is reassuring: Trump turns out to be a bendable politician like the rest, rather than a uniquely destructive force. 

One problem with Nafta, from Trump’s point of view, was that its disputes resolution procedures were unfair to the US and infringed its right to decide its own laws. The new Definitely Not Nafta deal keeps those procedures with minor tweaks.

Donald Trump’s trade deal with Mexico is a farce – and a lesson for Brexit | The Independent

There are some provisions about increasing US content in Mexican car exports to the US, but this actually affects a small fraction of cars (see previous entry).