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    History and Headlines
    You are at:Home»November»November 18»November 18, 1993: Reviled Trade Agreement, NAFTA, Passed by House
    November 18

    November 18, 1993: Reviled Trade Agreement, NAFTA, Passed by House

    Major DanBy Major DanNovember 18, 2016Updated:August 15, 202368 Comments3 Mins Read
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    A Brief History

    On November 18, 1993, the US House of Representatives passed the North American Free Trade Agreement that had been negotiated by President George HW Bush in 1992. President Clinton, assuming office in January of 1993, negotiated a couple small amendments to the agreement at the behest of congressmen.

    Digging Deeper

    Negotiated by Mexico, the United States and Canada, the measure replaced the previous trade agreement between the US and Canada known as the Canada-United States Free Trade Agreement. In Canada, most political representatives were against the NAFTA pact, but since the opposition was split between 2 groups the party that supported NAFTA prevailed.

    In the United States, popular opinion has been strongly against NAFTA ever since it went into effect on January 1, 1994, and it has become a favorite issue of Republicans to attack Bill Clinton, even though the agreement was negotiated by Republican President GHW Bush and during the 8 years of the George W. Bush administration (2001-2009) the pact was not repealed or replaced. In fact, the House vote included 132 Republicans voting for the agreement and only 102 Democrats voting for it. (That preponderance of Republican support is something you would never believe in the years since!)

    The incredibly complicated (to me, anyway) economic and social impact of NAFTA on each member country has generally been fairly small over all, although certain segments of the economy of each country may have benefited more or less due to the agreement. With so many assembly plants for cars and other durable products moved to Mexico, the rust belt states (around the Great Lakes) have suffered job losses in manufacturing due to the agreement. The balance of trade for the US is overwhelmingly positive for services, but for goods the US has an enormous trade deficit with Canada and Mexico. Either way, politicians love to attack NAFTA and blame it on their opponents. Still, as of yet, no credible replacement has been offered.

    One stipulation you may have missed is that NAFTA allows business and people to sue the government of member countries for policies claimed to have been detrimental (violating international law and agreements) to the aggrieved company.

    President elect Donald Trump has called NAFTA “The single worst trade deal ever approved.”

    Trump claims he will either renegotiate NAFTA or just unilaterally pull out of the agreement. Critics claim such action would be terrible for our economy. NAFTA gets so much bad press that any upcoming trade agreements are tarred by the same brush (TPP).  Question for students (and subscribers): What do you think? Please share your opinions about this controversial trade agreement in the comments section below this article. (In all honesty, the author barely knows what to think about it, but the dreaded “gut feeling” says it was a mistake.)

    If you liked this article and would like to receive notification of new articles, please feel welcome to subscribe to History and Headlines by liking us on Facebook and becoming one of our patrons!

    Your readership is much appreciated!

    Historical Evidence

    For more information, please see…

    Boskin, Michael J., ed.  NAFTA at 20: The North American Free Trade Agreement’s Achievements and Challenges.  Hoover Institution Press, 2014.

    Brown, Jerry and Ralph Nader.  The Case Against Free Trade: GATT, NAFTA and the Globalization of Corporate Power An Earth Island Press Book.  North Atlantic Books, 1993.

    Corsi Ph.D., Jerome R.  The Late Great USA: NAFTA, the North American Union, and the Threat of a Coming Merger with Mexico and Canada.  Threshold Editions, 2009.

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    Major Dan
    Major Dan

      Major Dan is a retired veteran of the United States Marine Corps. He served during the Cold War and has traveled to many countries around the world. Prior to his military service, he graduated from Cleveland State University, having majored in sociology. Following his military service, he worked as a police officer eventually earning the rank of captain prior to his retirement.

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      <span class="dsq-postid" data-dsqidentifier="14917 https://www.historyandheadlines.com/?p=14917">68 Comments

      1. Avatar
        Taylor Leigh Spring on November 20, 2016 8:04 pm

        I thought that this was a neat article because of how it related to what is going on in politics right now. I don’t know or understand everything about NAFTA, but I too have a gut feeling that it was a bad idea.

        Reply
      2. Avatar
        Shane Meehan on November 20, 2016 9:42 pm

        Great article. This is what is needed to show what the NAFTA is all about and what people should know the perks and issues of it.

        Reply
      3. Avatar
        Montel Lollis on November 22, 2016 10:22 am

        I think this is good for people who dont know what NAFTA is and what the pros and cons of it.

        Reply
      4. Avatar
        Breanna Beckley on November 29, 2016 9:05 pm

        I agree with Montel, I think it is good for people who don’t know what NAFTA is what the pros and cons are.

        Reply
      5. Avatar
        Maxwell McCullough on November 30, 2016 12:56 pm

        Great article, Amazes me that the republicans blame Bill Clinton even though he didn’t come up with the plan.

        Reply
      6. Avatar
        Michaela Ping on November 30, 2016 7:41 pm

        I didn’t know what NAFTA was before this and now I’m glad I do.

        Reply
      7. Avatar
        Lori Caudill on December 3, 2016 10:20 pm

        As the wife of a union steel worker, I fear what Trump will bring with his views on trade and NAFTA.

        Reply
      8. Avatar
        Lydia Ott on December 4, 2016 12:41 am

        I had not heard of NAFTA before, but being from the area around the Great Lakes I can relate to how it feels to lose factory jobs that were important to aid with the increase in our economy because of them going overseas and to other countries. I am curious to see what Trump does with it.

        Reply
      9. Avatar
        LF on December 4, 2016 4:21 pm

        interesting to see what nafta was all about.

        Reply
      10. Avatar
        Diana Minich on December 4, 2016 7:18 pm

        I do not know much about NAFTA, but I do know that a lot of businesses have moved to Mexico, costing US citizens their jobs. If President Elect Trump can make it better for the US, I am all for changing it.

        Reply
      11. Avatar
        Natalie antonio on December 6, 2016 12:38 pm

        I did not have a previous knowledge of NAFTA before reading this article, so it was interesting to read about this

        Reply
      12. Avatar
        Nicholas Hillyer on December 6, 2016 9:26 pm

        I can’t wait to see what Trump does with NAFTA. Let’s hope he fixes it.

        Reply
      13. Avatar
        Allison Lester on December 7, 2016 11:00 am

        Any time I hear of job loss due to moving operations out of the country such as Mexico I get frustrated with whatever the cause is. In this case, I do not agree with NAFTA.

        Reply
      14. Avatar
        Dakota Zimmerman on December 7, 2016 3:04 pm

        I am still having trouble with the understanding of Nafta

        Reply
      15. Avatar
        AA on December 7, 2016 4:23 pm

        Interesting to learn that 132 republicans voted for NAFTA and 102 democrats voted for it.

        Reply
      16. Avatar
        ES on December 7, 2016 6:33 pm

        I was honestly not sure what NAFTA is but was interesting learning about it.

        Reply
      17. Avatar
        Kristin Fellure on December 8, 2016 12:35 am

        I just learned what NAFTA is. I do think Trump should renegotiate it. I do not think he should pull out of it.

        Reply
      18. Avatar
        Rose Jepson on December 8, 2016 3:53 pm

        It’s still a bit confusing to me, but now I have more of an understanding to what Trump was always referring to in his debates.

        Reply
      19. Avatar
        Kala Strong on December 8, 2016 4:14 pm

        I do not understand NAFTA, but I am sure I will be hearing more about it during this presidency.

        Reply
      20. Avatar
        Brandon Wagner on December 8, 2016 5:37 pm

        I recall Trump speaking of NAFTA in the debates. I hope he can find a way to restructure the trade agreement.

        Reply
      21. Avatar
        Taylor Young on December 8, 2016 11:18 pm

        I do not know much about NAFTA but I am sure I will be hearing more about it in the press with Trump’s views on it.

        Reply
      22. Avatar
        Keagan Frey on December 9, 2016 3:18 am

        NAFTA has been a great trade agreement between North America. However, many believe that we are losing a lot of jobs to Mexico due to NAFTA.

        Reply
      23. Avatar
        Ben McClay on December 9, 2016 10:42 am

        It is important that President Donald Trump is well aware of NAFTA. I really do not have much of an opinion on NAFTA but realize that it is important that some type of change occurs.

        Reply
      24. Avatar
        Travis Tarnowski on December 10, 2016 12:53 am

        I think that President Donald Trump saying that he thinks it is the worst trade deal ever is going to please a lot of people. Could be one of the reasons he was elected.

        Reply
      25. Avatar
        Lessie Parish on December 10, 2016 2:35 am

        I do not really know much about NAFTA. I do remember Trump talking about it and I am sure I will hear more of it in the future.

        Reply
      26. Avatar
        Hunter Music on December 10, 2016 7:28 am

        Unsure of the factors of NAFTA, but I do not like that the president-elect believes that he can pull whatever trade agreements out that he chooses. If he does he could upset the wrong group of people.

        Reply
      27. Avatar
        Audrey Manahan on December 10, 2016 1:18 pm

        I have not hard much about NAFTA as well. Since president elect Donald Trump is against it I am sure that it will make the media more often than it has.

        Reply
      28. Avatar
        Elizabeth Bon on December 10, 2016 1:45 pm

        I do have to blame NAFTA for the down fall of many companies. I believe the parts bought from other Countries are not comparable to what was being built here in the U.S. NAFTA has been the reason for many lost jobs in the U.S. My husband has been working for the same company for 31 years and they have seen first hand the detriment of NAFTA. I do not believe, however, that pulling it out all together is smart either but definitely a revamp is needed.

        Reply
      29. Avatar
        RA on December 10, 2016 2:15 pm

        I think NAFTA is doing what it had to do. I look at things from both angles

        Reply
      30. Avatar
        Alyssa Hanes on December 10, 2016 3:34 pm

        I do not really know much about NAFTA or politics in general, but I am slightly afraid for the future of our country and hope that Trump makes smart decisions.

        Reply
      31. Avatar
        Jingshan Jiang on December 10, 2016 4:54 pm

        In my opinion, NAFTA promoted the economic development in North America. But, any policy should be adjusted at the specific time period.

        Reply
      32. Avatar
        Daina Thomas on December 10, 2016 5:03 pm

        I didn’t really know much about NAFTA, so this article helped me understand more and I believe they did what they thought was right.

        Reply
      33. Avatar
        Courtney G on December 10, 2016 5:15 pm

        I never really knew much about NAFTA until reading this.

        Reply
      34. Avatar
        Shuling He on December 10, 2016 8:31 pm

        Never Really knew about NAFTA before, but it seems help a lot about the North America’s economy.

        Reply
      35. Avatar
        David Birkbeck on December 12, 2016 12:31 am

        I didn’t really understand NAFTA, but this helped.

        Reply
      36. Avatar
        BS on December 13, 2016 11:43 pm

        I’m curious to see all the changes that will take place under Donald Trump as president. He plays key roles in so many areas of the government, as this article has pointed out.

        Reply
      37. Avatar
        Alexis Dykes on December 15, 2016 5:41 pm

        Reading about NAFTA for the first time has proven to be interesting. I was unaware of this trade agreement before the article above, and have gained knowledge on the subject. As someone that does not have much involvement with politics, I was intrigued (but not surprised) by some of the subjects discussed, such as president elect Trump and his opinion on the matter.

        Reply
      38. Avatar
        Abeer Bin on December 15, 2016 7:15 pm

        I dont have any idea about NAFAT but I think it help

        Reply
      39. Avatar
        Mackenzie H on February 17, 2017 10:57 pm

        I didn’t know most political representatives were against the NAFTA pact so the opposition was split between 2 groups the party that supported NAFTA prevailed.

        Reply
      40. Avatar
        Christie Benton on February 18, 2017 11:52 am

        NAFTA is a joke and only hurt our own labor here in the U.S. It took jobs and plumented the economy.

        Reply
      41. Avatar
        Dan Sumpter on February 19, 2017 8:29 am

        I think that the trade agreements have to be completely rewritten so that it makes American business stronger.

        Reply
      42. Avatar
        Jared A. Hutt on February 20, 2017 2:47 pm

        There is one undeniable fact about NAFTA. It flat out helped to destroy American manufacturing. If Trump does what he says he’ll do (what politician does?) the trend of losing businesses to other countries will, at a minimum, decrease.

        Reply
      43. Avatar
        Luke Lyden on February 20, 2017 8:56 pm

        NAFTA was a terrible agreement. It ruined so many manufacturing jobs in the US.

        Reply
      44. Avatar
        Kay McCargish on February 21, 2017 11:35 am

        I love that NAFTA was a Bush administration idea and blamed on Bill Clinton. People like to believe what they hear. Tell a lie long enough……

        Reply
      45. Avatar
        Bailey Cleary on February 21, 2017 5:48 pm

        NAFTA hurt our economy so much. it was something we should of never agreed on.

        Reply
      46. Avatar
        Cara Zang on February 22, 2017 2:52 pm

        I know there are pros and cons to NAFTA which brings a lot of opinions. I do agree it did hurt America’s jobs.

        Reply
      47. Avatar
        Chelsey R Stillings on February 24, 2017 8:30 am

        Lots of opinions on this article. There were a lot of negative and postive thought.

        Reply
      48. Avatar
        Dan Fidoe on February 25, 2017 2:00 pm

        NAFTA has cost the US greatly and the TPP would have been just as bad. Just thank god each day HRC did not get elected. We need to abolish NAFTA and Trump has us on the right track.

        Reply
      49. Avatar
        Jeffrey Keenan on February 25, 2017 2:54 pm

        Trump believes that NAFTA is one of the worst deals that we have ever made. Trump is a true business man and im sure that he will get us out of this mess.

        Reply
      50. Avatar
        Juan Rodriguez on February 25, 2017 5:04 pm

        NAFTA is the worst deal ever made for the U.S., just look around Ohio and Michigan at all the cities that have been shut down because of it.

        Reply
      51. Avatar
        Jason Orellano on February 25, 2017 7:57 pm

        I don’t know all of the details about NAFTA but I do know Ohio and surrounding states are hurting because of it.

        Reply
      52. Avatar
        Shaun Emerick on February 26, 2017 12:00 am

        The problem with NAFTA is that it took jobs out of the U.S. and put them mainly in Mexico and other countries. It opened up the possibility of outsourcing. Even though it may have been good for the economy at the time it still cost our country jobs. The rust belt is called the rust belt because this agreement took jobs away causing factories and businesses to shut down. If you drive through certain parts of the rust belt states such as Ohio you can see these rusted out old buildings. They are like tombstones meant to remind us that America use to be booming with jobs and possibilities.

        Reply
      53. Avatar
        John Milton on February 26, 2017 12:34 am

        I agree with President Trump that NAFTA is the worst deal ever made. Ohio is hurting terribly.

        Reply
      54. Avatar
        Chelsey R Stillings on February 26, 2017 4:27 pm

        Several states are hurting because of NAFTA.

        Reply
      55. Avatar
        Jeremiah Linden on February 26, 2017 11:02 pm

        As a supporter of President Trump, I hope he knows what he is talking about. I can see it going bad either way.

        Reply
      56. Avatar
        Crystal Thurman on February 27, 2017 12:53 am

        NAFTA hurt the American workers, I agree with Trump.

        Reply
      57. Avatar
        Nakia Bridges on April 26, 2017 2:11 am

        All bad….. its all bad!!! PERIOD!!!

        Reply
      58. Avatar
        Robert Conley on April 26, 2017 10:58 am

        NAFTA was a bad deal. Allowed to many factories and jobs to pull out and relocate in Mexico.

        Reply
      59. Avatar
        MIA on April 28, 2017 9:35 am

        NAFTA was definitely a horrible deal. I do agree with Trump on this one.

        Reply
      60. Avatar
        Jaisun on April 28, 2017 1:58 pm

        Ironic that an article on NAFTA made it in this week’s online readings, considering the opinion of the current occupant of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.

        Reply
      61. Avatar
        Adrian Lewers on April 28, 2017 6:41 pm

        I thought NAFTA was a great idea to help with trading and possibly lower product cost. I unfortunately have never been out of this country but I feel like if I were to leave it would be to go to Canada or Mexico. It feels like they are extensions of the US.

        Reply
      62. Avatar
        Amanda Miller on April 29, 2017 12:07 am

        I personally hate politics but I do remember when NAFTA was agreed upon and when I talk to my parents about what they think, they don’t like the fact that NAFTA went in effect. They blame Bill Clinton obviously, they need to check their facts again.

        Reply
      63. Avatar
        Kyle Gelenius on April 29, 2017 2:35 pm

        What doesn’t surprise me is that a Republican President negotiated the trade deal, yet the Republicans blame the Democrats for the “bad” deal. They seem to have the case of amnesia sometimes, or simply do not care to accept the facts. Nevertheless, I believe NAFTA has hurt our county, particularly in sending our manufacturing jobs out of the country and hurting our country’s steel production. I agree that it needs to be renegotiated and a fair-trade deal reached.

        Reply
      64. Avatar
        Michael Tovissi on May 1, 2017 12:18 am

        I don;t know much about NAFTA. But if it’s affecting American workers, I think NAFTA is a bad idea.

        Reply
      65. Avatar
        Payton Brown on May 3, 2017 5:11 pm

        I don’t understand what NAFTA is all about but it sounds like the wrong man got blamed for its shortcomings.

        Reply
      66. Avatar
        Misty Prosser on May 3, 2017 9:17 pm

        I do not keep up with politics as much as I should but I have tried to read up on NAFTA. I have to agree with President Trump that it was not a good idea.

        Reply
      67. Avatar
        Angela Kessinger on May 3, 2017 10:01 pm

        Any agreement that takes jobs away from the American people such as NAFTA is not a good agreement. Hopefully President Trump is able to renegotiate the policy and bring jobs back to the US.

        Reply
      68. Avatar
        Jessica Kessinger on May 8, 2017 11:57 pm

        Agreeing with Misty I do not keep up on politics as much as I should. I did not even know what NAFTA was.

        Reply

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