Trump Is Right About NAFTA, But That Doesn’t Make Him Pro-Worker

[homersapien 11,365]

Interesting analysis of what is good and bad - and for whom - regarding NAFTA, along with the associated politics:

https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/opinion-kuttner-nafta-trade_us_5b01f809e4b0463cdba39de3

 

excerpt:

....The existing elements of NAFTA are not “free trade.” They amount to a special-interest deal by and for multinational corporations, which undermines the ability of the U.S. to broker a balanced form of decent capitalism.

Yet the political center — Democratic presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton, as well as Republicans George H.W. Bush, George W. Bush and Ronald Reagan — promoted global trade deals that plainly served corporations at the expense of workers. That embrace gave a huge opening to Trump.

Other elements of Trump’s pro-worker stance are largely phony. His tax reform serves mainly corporations. His regulatory changes reduce protections for workers and consumers. His proposal to charge foreign health systems more for drugs would boost pharmaceutical profits and not reduce prices for American consumers.....