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How the Midterm Election Affects the Fate of NAFTA Renegotiations

Statement of Lori Wallach, Director, Public Citizen’s Global Trade Watch

A lot of corporate lobbyists and congressional Republicans were downright scornful of U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer’s efforts to engage on NAFTA renegotiation with the congressional Democrats and unions that have opposed past trade deals. Now his approach appears prescient: After this election, only trade deals that can earn Democratic support will get through Congress.

Regardless of the change in control of the House, there is a path to creating a final NAFTA package that could achieve broad support.

In response to publication of the NAFTA 2.0 text, congressional Democrats that have opposed past pacts did not launch a campaign against it, but rather identified where progress was made and where more work is essential, including the labor standards enforcement that is necessary to counter NAFTA’s job outsourcing incentives and downward pressure on wages. This election has increased the number of House members whose support of any trade deal will be premised on such improvements.

If trade officials are willing to work with congressional Democrats, unions and other groups on the improvements needed to stop NAFTA’s ongoing job outsourcing and raise wages, there clearly is a policy path to a renegotiated NAFTA that could gain wide support next year. Of course, who knows what lunatic things unrelated to trade that Donald Trump might do in the meantime to derail that prospect?

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