Donald Trump has called NAFTA (North American Free Trade Agreement) a “disaster.” It turns out that ending the agreement with Canada and Mexico would be the real disaster for Americans. The primary benefits from trade go to consumers, who improve their standard of living through the lower prices and greater variety of goods provided by trade. “Trade with Canada and Mexico supports nearly 14 million U.S. jobs, and nearly 5 million of these net jobs are supported by the increase in trade generated by NAFTA,” according to an economic analysis by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. “The North American Free Trade Agreement, contrary to what President Donald Trump has claimed, contributed almost nothing to manufacturing’s decline,” according to J. Bradford DeLong, professor of economics, UC-Berkeley. It may have been the first time in history that visual aids have been credited with saving millions of jobs.

Source: Forbes May 06, 2017 04:41 UTC