[CTC] Here are all the terrible things President Trump has said about NAFTA — before deciding to stick with it

[Arthur Stamoulis]

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/terrible-president-trump-nafta-article-1.3107104 <http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/terrible-president-trump-nafta-article-1.3107104>
Here are all the terrible things President Trump has said about NAFTA — before deciding to stick with it

BY Meera Jagannathan <http://www.nydailynews.com/authors?author=Meera-Jagannathan>
NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
Thursday, April 27, 2017, 9:26 AM
The “worst trade deal in the history of the world” can stick around a little longer, President Trump announced Wednesday after more than a year of bellyaching about NAFTA.

Trump, following calls with Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, decided not to withdraw from the North American Free Trade Agreement — despite his repeated campaign vow to kill it if he couldn’t strike a renegotiation to his liking.

“It is my privilege to bring NAFTA up-to-date through renegotiation,” he said in a Wednesday night statement. “I believe that the end result will make all three countries stronger and better.”

He issued a decidedly more Trumpian commentary Thursday morning in one of his signature two-part tweets:

“I received calls from the President of Mexico and the Prime Minister of Canada asking to renegotiate NAFTA rather than terminate. I agreed..” he wrote, “...subject to the fact that if we do not reach a fair deal for all, we will then terminate NAFTA. Relationships are good-deal very possible!”

Despite those tweets, Trump has yet to present any timeline or specific strategy for such negotiations.

And he wasn’t always that optimistic about the tri-country trade agreement, frequently weaponizing Hillary Clinton’s support for it into a stump-speech attack line. Here are some of the worst things Trump has said about NAFTA over the past several months:

1. “Clinton is the one that approved NAFTA ... NAFTA is the worst deal, one of the worst deals our country has ever made, from an economic standpoint … one of the worst deals, ever.” (May 9, CNN’s “New Day”)
(NAFTA was actually negotiated and signed <http://ourpresidents.tumblr.com/post/70317618681/today-in-history-president-george-bush-signs-the> in 1992 by Bill Clinton’s predecessor, George H. W. Bush, though it came into effect in 1994.)

2. “A lot of people thought Reagan was, you know, for some reason everyone thought Reagan was NAFTA. It was Clinton that was NAFTA. Ronald Reagan got a bum rap because NAFTA’s been a disaster for our country.” (June 9, Washington Post interview)

3. “Word is that Crooked Hillary has very small and unenthusiastic crowds in Pennsylvania. Perhaps it is because her husband signed NAFTA?” (July 30, Twitter)

4. “NAFTA, a total disaster. NAFTA, signed by Bill Clinton. He never suffered the ravages, because he signed it, then he got out and other people did suffer with it.” (Aug. 5 in Green Bay, Wis.)

5. “I see the carnage that NAFTA has caused, I see the carnage. It’s been horrible. I see upstate New York, I see North Carolina, but I see every state. You look at New England. New England got really whacked. New England got hit.” (Aug. 9 in Wilmington, N.C.)

6. “Here, in this beautiful and great state, so many people have suffered because of NAFTA. NAFTA. Remember NAFTA, what it's done to this country. Bill Clinton signed the deal and Hillary Clinton supported the deal.” (Aug. 18 in Charlotte, N.C.)

7. “There’s never been a worse or a dumber deal for trade including TPP which is a disaster — but TPP I don't believe will be as bad as NAFTA. And as you know, Hillary Clinton totally wants to approve TPP.” (Sept. 13 in Des Moines, Iowa)

8. “And lastly, we have some of the worst trade deals ever made, headed by NAFTA. Other countries have ripped us like you've never seen before, vast parcels of land throughout our country including this state are empty with fallen buildings, empty, just empty. When you see it, it’s so sad.” (Sept. 20 in Kenansville, N.C.)

9. “Your husband signed NAFTA, which was one of the worst things that ever happened to the manufacturing industry. ... NAFTA is the worst trade deal maybe ever signed anywhere, but certainly ever signed in this country.” (Sept. 26 presidential debate with Hillary Clinton)

10. “Because NAFTA, signed by her husband, is perhaps the greatest disaster trade deal in the history of the world. Not in this country. It stripped us of manufacturing jobs. We lost our jobs. We lost our money. We lost our plants. It is a disaster.” (Oct. 9 in St. Louis, Mo.)

11. “Sad, isn’t it? Isn’t it pathetic? North Carolina’s industrial workers have been crushed by Bill Clinton’s signing of NAFTA supported by crooked Hillary.” (Oct. 14 in Greensboro, N.C.)

12. “I will renegotiate NAFTA. If I can’t make a great deal, we’re going to tear it up. We’re going to get this economy running again.” (Oct. 19, Twitter)

13. “At the center of my jobs plan will be fixing our terrible trade deals. They are terrible. They are the most incompetent deals ever made. By the way, NAFTA, signed by Bill Clinton. Thank you very much, President Clinton.” (Oct. 21 in Fletcher, N.C.)

14. “And with NAFTA if we don’t get the deal we want, we will terminate NAFTA and get a much better deal for our workers and for our companies, 100 percent, 100 percent.” (Oct. 26 in Kinston, N.C.)

15. “Take a look at NAFTA, one of the worst deals ever made by any country, having to do with economic development. It’s economy un-development, as far as our country is concerned.” (Feb. 24 at the Conservative Political Action Conference)

16. “Before NAFTA went into effect — by the way, NAFTA, a total disaster — there were 280,000 autoworkers in Michigan. Today that number is roughly 165,000 — and would have been heading down big-league if I didn’t get elected. I will tell you that right now.” (March 15 in Ypsilanti, Mich.)

17. “Nafta’s been very, very bad for our country. It’s been very, very bad for our companies and for our workers, and we’re going to make some very big changes, or we are going to get rid of Nafta for once and for all. Cannot continue like this, believe me.” (April 18 in Kenosha, Wis.)

18. “I am very upset with NAFTA. I think NAFTA has been a catastrophic trade deal for the United States, trading agreement for the United States. ... I am going to either renegotiate it or I am going to terminate it.” (April 23, Associated Press interview)


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