Renegotiating the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) would be like throwing the baby out with the bath water, according to Professor Raymond Robertson, Texas A&M University. His research shows strong evidence for NAFTA’s benefits.

Robertson, a professor of political science and economics at the Bush School of Government & Public Service, observes that, “The objections to NAFTA are really about labor market adjustment problems more broadly. Ending NAFTA won’t solve those problems. Furthermore, Canada and Mexico are the United States’ top trading partners and empirical evidence shows that all three countries reap significant economic benefits from the relationship.”   

In “The NAFTA Intellect Disconnect: Actual Costs and Benefits versus Popular Perceptions,” published by the Mosbacher Institute for Trade, Economics, and Public Policy, Robertson argues that “the most accurate way to think of the NAFTA economic area is as one integrated economy rather than three separate ones. That is, rather than thinking of Mexico as a competitor, we should think of Mexico as a partner in our national production process.”

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