PPI - Radically Pragmatic
  • Donate
Skip to content
  • Home
  • About
    • About Us
    • Locations
    • Careers
  • People
  • Projects
  • Our Work
  • Events
  • Donate

Our Work

Gerwin for Medium: “Getting Democrats to ‘Yes’ on Trump’s New NAFTA”

  • June 17, 2019
  • Ed Gerwin

President Trump is apparently a trade alchemist. He’s taken the core of NAFTA (the “worst trade deal ever”), liberally sprinkled in modern rules from the Trans Pacific Partnership (a “potential disaster”), and created a “brand new” trade deal — the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA).

Trump’s hyperbole aside, the USMCA, while not perfect, would do a creditable job of preserving the essential rules of the road for North America’s highly integrated, $22 trillion economy. It would also update the decades-old NAFTA by, among other things, adding enforceable labor and environmental rules, promoting digital commerce, and cutting red tape for small business. Given Trump’s years of railing against NAFTA and repeated threats to terminate the Agreement, this is a positive development.

For the USMCA to enter into force, it must be approved by Congress, including the Democratic-controlled House. In recent weeks, Trump hasn’t been helping this process. Insulting and trying to bulldoze House Democratic leaders and threatening damaging new tariffs on Mexico are hardly constructive strategies.

 

Read the full piece on Medium by clicking here.  

Related Work

In the News  |  July 7, 2025

Ritz on NewsNation: How Trump’s BBB Adds to the National Debt

  • Ben Ritz
Feature  |  July 6, 2025

The People Who Brought You Bill Clinton Want to Introduce You to the ‘Colorado Way’

  • Will Marshall
Budget Breakdown  |  July 3, 2025

Passage of ‘One Big Beautiful Bill’ Renders Republican Deficit Hawks Extinct

  • Ben Ritz Alex Kilander
Blog  |  July 2, 2025

Senate Republicans Go Nuclear to Blow Up the National Debt

  • Ben Ritz
Trade Fact  |  July 2, 2025

The U.S. Needs 8,000 Tons of Cobalt a Year, and Produces 300 Tons

  • Ed Gresser
Press Release  |  July 2, 2025

New PPI Report Asserts Democrats Must Reclaim Obama’s Vision of American Identity

  • Ian Reifowitz
  • Never miss an update:

  • Subscribe to our newsletter
PPI Logo
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • Facebook
  • Donate
  • Careers
  • © 2025 Progressive Policy Institute. All Rights Reserved.
  • |
  • Privacy Policy
  • |
  • Privacy Settings