Texas Has Most to Win or Lose with NAFTA Renegotiation
In his 1992 independent run for president, Dallas businessman Ross Perot warned of a “giant sucking sound” from South of the border, taking jobs from Americans as part of the North American Free Trade Agreement. Today, we hear arguments from both the left and right about why we would be better off without NAFTA. These range from what some call the “theft” of American jobs to concerns over the rising income inequality between the rich and the poor. Still, President Trump has made many involved in trade nervous with his threats to withdraw NAFTA if he does not like the outcome of negotiations to update the agreement.
But whether you are a banker in Dallas or a farmer in Lubbock, make no mistake—withdrawing from NAFTA would be devastating for Texas.
Not only is Mexico the Lone Star State’s largest trading partner, but more than 380,000 jobs in Texas directly depend on trade with Mexico.
These jobs are in industries ranging from manufacturing to agriculture to electronics. Many are found in the more than 125,000 small and medium-sized Texas businesses that shipped products and provided services to Mexico and Canada last year.
Read more: https://www.texasmonthly.com/burka-blog/texas-win-lose-nafta-renegotiation/
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