Forget about the trouble Canada had with the Buy America policy, there is a new game in Washington; it’s called Block Canada. A group of congressmen have given their backing to a bill that if passed, would see President Barack Obama give six-months notice that the United States was withdrawing from the North American Free Trade Agreement.
Representative Gene Taylor, a Democrat from Mississippi, introduced the bill last Thursday and quickly found the support of 27 cosponsors in both the Democratic and Republican parties. The bill has attracted support from moderates and the fringe in both parties as well, with several members of the Blue Dog Coalition of moderate Democrats signing on alongside libertarians like Ron Paul on the Republican side or Dennis Kucinich of the Democratic left. The bill also has fairly wide spread geographical support with representatives from 16 different states.
With more the $1 billion per day in cross border trade between Canada and the United States, politicians in Ottawa need to be concerned about any threat that would limit access to the U.S. market. The recent Buy America provisions of the Recovery Act of 2009 were credited with the loss of thousands of jobs and millions of dollars in lost business for Canadian companies.
The Canadian impact of cancelling NAFTA is likely to have little sway with the sponsors of this bill, their concern is the health of the U.S. economy. Rep. Taylor is quoted by Reuters as saying, “At a time when 10 to 12 percent of the American people are unemployed, I think Congress has an obligation to put people back to work.”
While supporters have long credited NAFTA with helping boost trade and create jobs, opponents like cosponsor Bart Stupak, a Michigan Democrat, say the trade treaty has cost American jobs, “I remain opposed to NAFTA because it continues to hurt the U.S. economy and put Americans out of work. I am pleased to join my colleagues to propose a repeal of this failed trade policy. NAFTA has failed to deliver the benefits that were promised and has cost Michigan hundreds of thousands of good manufacturing jobs.”
Stupak relies on data from the Economic Policy Institute which claims Michigan in particular lost 63,000 jobs as a result of NAFTA while the United States as a whole lost 1 million jobs as a result of NAFTA.
President Obama has promised to support freer trade and NAFTA in particular since coming to office, yet he was known for critiquing the pact while campaigning to be president. During a speech two years ago in Ohio, then candidate Obama was critical of rival Hillary Clinton and her support for NAFTA saying the United States can’t keep passing unfair trade deals. “One million jobs have been lost because of NAFTA" Obama told his audience, "including nearly 50,000 jobs here in Ohio. And yet, ten years after NAFTA passed, Senator Clinton said it was good for America. Well, I don't think NAFTA has been good for America - and I never have.”
Expect Canadian politicians to downplay this threat but there are plenty of reasons to worry, the first among them, President Obama’s past statements and long history of opposition to NAFTA. This is also an election year in the United States with the entire House of Representatives and 36 Senate seats up for grabs. With unemployment still running high in the United States, offering populist solutions like closing the borders could strike a chord with an agitated public. Finally, don’t expect this anti-NAFTA push to just come from the Democrats, not only has Taylor’s bill picked up support from Republicans but the growing Tea Party movement in the United States, which leans right, is attracting plenty of anti-trade supporters who say it is time to put America first.
Update: US Embassy downplays NAFTA fight, Harper government monitoring
Brian Lilley is the Ottawa Bureau Chief for radio stations Newstalk 1010 in Toronto and CJAD 800 in Montreal. Follow Brian on Twitter to get the latest as it happens.
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Comments
The USA buys the largest percentage of its oil from Canada.
Looks like it's time to double the price or sell it to China.
That's fine, we can trade with other, less belligerent nations. The U.S. government can create thousands of jobs, but how will it "create" all those natural resources NAFTA allows them to take from us? How long can a population survive without potable water?
Don't let the door hit you on the way out.
I always find it funny that when something the USA forces onto others (ie. free trade, opening of markets (Japan), etc) they don't like it when others have the same advantage of them. This is nothing more than the kid taking his ball and going home.
The problem is the electorate in this country are so dumbed down (unfortunetely I live in Texas) by rhetoric they don't realize that outsourcing of jobs to India and China are the real culprits.
We need to build a pipeline to the West Coast from Alberta and get ready to ship out our oil to Southeast Asia.
The U.S. lost its jobs and manufacturing to CHINA (look in any retail store; it doesn't say "Made in Canada") but they won't stand up to ripping up those agreements right? A peaceful, democratic trading partner and they want to stop trade. Mexico too?
The US takes a lot more than it gives with NAFTA. Canada would be much better off if they did pull out.
It reminds me of the South Park Movie "Blame Canada". Humor aside the founders of our country had the foresight to set up the country on an East/West axis, you know the Canadian Pacific railway. It has only been in the last 30 years that this has started to change significantly. If the US wants to belabour the issue so be it. They will never get such a sweet deal again. In fact under the Martin government we already sarted a program to reinforce our east/west capabilitie in West Coast port facilities etc. That initiative is continued wisely by our present government. We also have a pipeline going from Alberta to the coast nearing completion. It would likely be better for us to diversify our trading relationships even more. This will be one decision the US will sorely regret if they continue.
This will change our prices for domestic fuel and gasoline. The nafta aggreement requires our oil to be priced on the international benchmark. Without nafta we can sell our oil in Canada at our set prices. There is enough oil to be self sufficient. What will the USA do about natural gas? The north east of USA heats with our natural gas. I see some major suckholing coming!
If it's true that it's serious, it will hurt Canada and the U.S. too. But even if you don't have the space to name all of them by name [he typed redundantly], how about telling us how many of the 28 are Republicans? And while it isn't quantifiable by any hard and fast rule, how many are judged to be Blue Dogs. Because the far left of the Democrats (you know, the ones who are going to be losing their seats this November in the midterms) and GOP pariah nutcase, Ron Paul, are hardly a plurality, let alone a majority, of both Houses. So telling all the numbers will help readers judge how serious a challenge this really is.
[BTW for Examiner techs, I can't access the comments to read them--only the comment box is visible.]
[Comments now visible after posting my comment]
Good luck buying oil from us douchbags
No more oil from Canada and Mexico.
Same goes for electricity and natural gas.
Good Gawd some Democrats are way beyond stupid.
If you want jobs stop exporting those jobs to China and stop buying cheap low grade merchandise from China.
Make it illegal to import anything from China.
Roll out red carpets hear come the China boys.
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Wow! can you believe it? It would be so nice to get out from under part of the "Great American Corporatocracy" especially NAFTA. Before NAFTA we were trading with everyone, you could buy Europian, Asian, African, British & Far eastern goods not owned by American Corporations in China & the middle east. It's been about the great American profit financial crises fiasco associated with their Bureaucracy & corruption THAT HAS US UP AGAINST A WALL.lET THEM GO.......
The Nafta was always a one way street, heading south. At the time we were China to the Yanks as well as the fount for all they need to live their golden way of life. Our chagrin is, it was the Conservatives who put it into play. Now we mean nothing to them and to say we cost them jobs is a crock. Maybe a few at the start, but the jobs are all in Asia now. For junk that falls apart after one use.
Out here in the west we have finally started to break down the bamboo curtain and energy and forest products as well as minerals and farm products are headed west. The US is being left in the dust. We don't need them, they need us. Bring it on! Nice to see the one world concept starting to fall apart.
Even if the Americans pull out of NAFTA, they will still be governed by the rules of the World Trade Organization - unless they want to pull out of that too. It will be very difficult for the US to rebuild industries which have moved out of the country for economic reasons, and certainly not in a short enough time frame to affect employment arising from the present recession.
The fact that Obama is both for and against, depending upon where he is speaking, should surprise no one.
Good! I hope it succeeds. The last thing Canada needs is hitching our economy to the US depression and it's flaky dollar.
Dems are America's worst enemies and here they are again aiding Canadian resource industries by freeing us from the price protection of oil/gas/electricity/minerals the US enjoyed under NAFTA. The US cannot function without Canadian energy/resource sales and now we can charge you what these commodities are really worth. Canadians - the new blue eyed Sheiks ;-)
Thank you Dem morons!
Fine, no more oil to be shipped to the US. Let the fur fly, starting with the US charged with economic terrorism, which marginalizes farmers outside the US, the EU, and Canada. The willfully ignorant inside the Beltway take for granted that the US is exporting more to Canada today than when NAFTA was signed, or when the FTA was signed.
So, where did all that money go? Did it go poof like the phantom
dollars that put people in houses they could not afford?
It is time for Canada, Britain, Australia, and New Zealand to strengthen ties by a common currency, a common defense policy, a common foreign policy, and increased trade.
Dave P, one way street headed south?
Typical Liberal airhead who still thinks the Democrats and Obama are so much better than Bush and the Republicans.
Idiot
lets start checking china, russia and europe and brazil and may be they will want a nafta with us as the u.s. can not get along with themselves and seem they won't get along with canada now. too bad
Good riddance... I'll hate Mulroney until I die for selling our resources and energy sovereignty to the US for minimum wage jobs, while the US has constantly created barriers for softwood, beef, generic drugs, wheat and countless other raw products. Can't even ban health and environmentally harmful stuff like GMO's and pesticides/herbicides under NAFTA. So maybe now we can do what needs to be done with Monsanto, Dupont, and Haliburton. Send them packing.
What Canada needs to do is get into a trade partnership with Mexico and the rest of South and Central America. Bypass the U.S. altogether. Then the You-alls can stew in their own juice.
Gee! I wonder if the anti-NAFTA senators'Congresmen understand that without NAFTA Canada could pipe oil west and ship to China from Vancouver. Then there is the small issue of water, which while not a REAL crisis in the us NOW, IT WILL BE
Aren't they stupid. Only friend in the world left is Canada and they want to isolate themselves from us too? Silly.
I hope they remember that a rejig of NAFTA applies to oil and water. You can't have your cake and eat it too!
We need to abandon NAFTA if we intend to get the best value from China for our petroleum products.
They will buy EVERY ounce.
Stupid Dems.
DDDDDDave: I'm as conservative as can be. Cons screw up just as others do; remember the Meech Lake Accord, NAFTA? Both were brought out by the same PM. A member of the Tri Lateral Commission, no less. It really adds up doesn't it? Wreck your own country for the sake of the almighty dollar.
If you think Dubbya advanced the cause of conservatism, who's the idiot? Not me.
Chris D echoes my feelings. I went bankrupt due to the shenanigans of the FTA.
If we are going to block western oil then we should be blocking Quebec electricity as well. "No oil and no electricity makes Homer something something...." "Go crazy"... "Don't mind if I do."
if NAFTA does end up in file 13 it will be Ontario and Quebec that will be hardest hit...why????
if NAFTA does end up in file 13 it will be Ontario and Quebec that will be hardest hit...why????
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