U.S. lawmakers introduce bill to leave NAFTA

Francis2004

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Nov 18, 2008
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U.S. lawmakers introduce bill to leave NAFTA


A group of U.S. congressmen is throwing its weight behind a new bill that calls for the United States to withdraw from the North American Free Trade Agreement.

The bill, which is spearheaded by Rep. Gene Taylor, a Democrat from Mississippi, would require President Barack Obama to give Canada and Mexico six-months notice that the U.S. will no longer be a part of NAFTA.

The bill, which was introduced Mar. 4, has the support of 28 representatives in Congress, who argue that the agreement has cost the U.S. millions of jobs, particularly in manufacturing.

U.S. lawmakers introduce bill to leave NAFTA - CTV News

How much is directed at Mexico and how much at Canada's Auto Makers ?

I met with a friend of mine and they are closing his Div of a US based company as of this week to move it State side. Are we better off without free trade and NAFTA ourselves on the Canada side.

Your thoughts ?
 

Ron in Regina

"Voice of the West" Party
Apr 9, 2008
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My thoughts...Mexico & Canada have things that America wants too. Mexico
opted out of the Oil provisions that Canada entered into (like Canada can't
reduce the amount of oil it sells to America without proportionally reducing the
oil sales to itself, and that it can't sell oil to the USA for more than it sells it to
itself). Do I think the USA would opt out of THAT Sweetheart deal? Nope....

If NAFTA goes out...the first thing on the block is Oil. No shortage of
customers. The American's don't want that, so this is just vote buy'n noise....
 

Francis2004

Subjective Poster
Nov 18, 2008
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I was thinking more along the lines of Electricity that both Alberta and BC send down.. As well as Natural Gas..

Much easier to use as a bargaining tool for industry then consumer based items that piss off people and get them mad at your country..
 

Ron in Regina

"Voice of the West" Party
Apr 9, 2008
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Well.....the Bill is called, "Block Canada!" so I'm not sure how much
of it is in reference to or directed at Mexico. Now that NAFTA is in,
and has been for years....it's too late to put that Genie back in the
bottle. Harper (or whomever happens to be the PM of Canada if
or when this comes to a head) will mention Oil (like he did a few
years back during a Three Amigo's conference...) and this just
fade away....as it did before the last American Ferderal Election.
 

Ron in Regina

"Voice of the West" Party
Apr 9, 2008
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I was thinking more along the lines of Electricity that both Alberta and BC send down.. As well as Natural Gas..

Much easier to use as a bargaining tool for industry then consumer based items that piss off people and get them mad at your country..


The USA has a GREAT deal with Canada on NAFTA on almost everything.
They're not going to shoot themselves in the foot.
 

Ron in Regina

"Voice of the West" Party
Apr 9, 2008
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Oh yeah...and it'll come up periodically...to rent votes from manufacturing
states....and then it'll fade away without anything happening. It has
before, & it will again (& again, & again...) as needed for votes.
 

Ron in Regina

"Voice of the West" Party
Apr 9, 2008
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The last time this came up (in 2008), this is how it was dealt with:

Harper plays the oil card with skill

And this on a day when trade was very much an issue in the rust-belt state of
Pennsylvania, where people were streaming to the polls in the Democratic
primary in which both Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama have said they would
reopen NAFTA to renegotiate environmental and labour standards, among other
things.

Which, of course, is just campaign boilerplate from both sides. But it plays well
to the galleries, and it plays well in a state where protectionist sentiment has
always been strong. It is impossible not to mention Pennsylvania and steel tariffs
in the same breath.

But look, said Harper, if a new American administration wants to renegotiate the
NAFTA, we're there. And here was his point: We've got oil. And gas.

He played Canada's high card yesterday, and he played it extremely well, without in
any way interfering in the U.S. presidential election.

"If our partners want to negotiate, that we'll do," he said. "We'll negotiate. That's
not the position that we prefer (in) the government of Canada. We have an
agreement that has worked well, and created jobs, lots of jobs in this continent,
and I think that the business community is unanimous about the benefits of this
agreement."

He added: 'The American people are going to make a decision. A future American
administration may have a different view."

That was the setup pitch. Then came the high, hard one.

"We'll be prepared for any eventuality," Harper continued. "Canada is the United
States' number one supplier of energy. We are a secure and stable supplier. That is
of critical importance to the future of the United States, and if we had to look at
this kind of option, I think quite frankly we would be in an even stronger position
now than we were 20 years ago and we'll be in a stronger position in the future.
But my preference is not to negotiate what we talked about in the past. It's to talk
about the future."

It went away very quickly. Mr. Obama's camp leaked to Mr. Harpers
camp that the noise was just to get votes...and that was also leaked
to the media...and that was a smozzle...and it all went away until the
need to rent more vote comes up again (like now it seems).
 

petros

The Central Scrutinizer
Nov 21, 2008
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We have long since gone above and beyond NAFTA so how the hell can dropping it make a difference now post NAU?
 

petros

The Central Scrutinizer
Nov 21, 2008
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"We'll be prepared for any eventuality," Harper continued. "Canada is the United
States' number one supplier of energy. We are a secure and stable supplier. That is

of critical importance to the future of the United States, and if we had to look at
this kind of option, I think quite frankly we would be in an even stronger position
now than we were 20 years ago and we'll be in a stronger position in the future.
But my preference is not to negotiate what we talked about in the past. It's to talk
about the future."***see NOTES 1
****NOTES 1 Mr Harper's strong position means heavy militarization of Columbia and eventual invasion of the Orinoco basin in Venezula where Canadian BASED SUPPLIERS will feed the US heavy crude.
 

earth_as_one

Time Out
Jan 5, 2006
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I doubt Americans withdraw from NAFTA. Its mutually beneficial... if the Amerians would hold up their end of the bargain. Which they don't.

Canada businesses like mine should have free access to US markets. In return, American business should get free access to Canadian resources. That said, try getting a TN Visa lately. The Homeland Gestapo treats every Canadian business person entering the US like we are taking jobs away from Americans. They call us "white mexicans". Instead of free access we get harassed and delayed. Sometimes they let you in, sometimes they don't and there is no way to known ahead of time. You have to apply for your precious TN Visa enroute. American business people face the same hassle coming to Canada. Recently, our customs officers have starting giving back a little tit for tat. I hear some of my American collegues are now getting harassed and blocked at the Canadian border. The entire process is stupid. I can work in Australia, Europe or Japan easier than I can work in the US. Regarding the rest of Nafta, need I mention Softwood Lumber or "Buy America"?

If Americans can't hold up their end of the deal, then we don't really have a deal. I'm in favor of scrapping NAFTA, drilling a hole through the Rocky Mountains and shipping our resources to China and the Pacific Rim countries. The Americans can a premium for Canadian resources like everyone else. Maybe a few business which need access to Canadian resources will move to Canada...
 

Bar Sinister

Executive Branch Member
Jan 17, 2010
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Excellent. And Canada could once again reinstate FIMA and begin the process of buying back Canadian assets from their American owners.

However, I doubt that the bill has any real support. And even if it did could it survive a presidential veto? It just isn't going to happen. But if it ever did - Hello EU!
 

TenPenny

Hall of Fame Member
Jun 9, 2004
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So, if they pull out of NAFTA, we could stop exporting oil to the US.
That would be an interesting move, considering how much oil the US gets from Canada.

It will never happen, though, it's more of a publicity stunt.
 

MHz

Time Out
Mar 16, 2007
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So, if they pull out of NAFTA, we could stop exporting oil to the US.
That would be an interesting move, considering how much oil the US gets from Canada.

It will never happen, though, it's more of a publicity stunt.

It might mean we have the right to supply out own citizens with oil before the US gets the quotas they want.
 

Avro

Time Out
Feb 12, 2007
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This bill is a toothless tiger, all roar, no bite.

Law makers in the US know where their dinner hangs....they are not about to cut themselves off.:lol: