Free trade is good, but it can’t be unilateral. Our competitors don’t believe in free trade; instead the negotiate “free trade” agreements that are not equal, and then they willfully violate them at that.
Free trade is a joke, The Founders were protectionists and protectionism ruled the US till the implementaion of the income tax in 1908. It fueled the Industrial Revolution, why wouldn’t you want to protect American industry and AMerican jobs over cheap foreign labor. What’s going on now is our industrial base has shifted to China and Indai. we manufature nothing, unemployment is over 50%. That’s your free trade. Our military buys its Ammo and US flags from CHina.
The investor can make the deal with the state regarding taxes, but there is a possibility the state could impose regulations, say a labor regulation, but it is really tax masquerading as a regulation. So the investors are given protection from this, and in NAFTA the investor protections are found in Chapter 11.
But when you give the investors protection, there is the risk that it is detrimental to labor, environment, etc.
When dispute arise, they are settled by the arbitration panel and each nations judiciary has to honor the arbitration panels decision. So, each and every time the arbitration panel resolves a dispute, the panel is, by precedent, establishing a law, which is called investor state law. Over time, and by settling numerous/many disputes the arbitration panel creates a body of investor state law.
With NAFTA, the dems and some GOPers knew there had to be investor protections but they thought the protections for labor, environment, etc were inadequate so they all agreed that the incoming prez, Bill Clinton, would negotiate a side or parallel NAFTA agreement that contained those protections and the following January Congress would ratify both NAFTA and Clinton's side agreement.
But Clinton's side agreement turned out to be toothless and the arbitration panel ignored it. This infuriated the unions and they thought Clinton was in cahoots with the GOP. Then later Clinton would negotiate welfare reform with the GOP and that turned out bad for the dems, which is why the leftwingers think Bill and Hillary are head of the Democratic wing of the GOP.
As for the tariffs, or removing tariffs, or harmonizing the tariffs, that revolves around benefits for the producers versus benefits for the consumers.
Under NAFTA, Mexico's tariffs on US corn would not fall until 2008. But immediately after NAFTA was signed, Mexico would allow some US corn in without tariffs. This was detrimental to corn producers in Mexico but it kept the price of tortillas down, benefitting consumers.
Yep. Free Trade is awesome. We should trade on an “equal footing” with our Trade Partners.
They impose a tariff, we match it. Maintain equality.
Protectionism doesn’t work. Nor does “MFN” to Nations who have no interest in reciprocity, like China.