Renegotiating NAFTA – A Blueprint for Success

Posted: December 20th, 2016

By William Krist

William Krist is a Global Fellow at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. He has written numerous articles and blogs on U.S. trade policy. His book, Globalization and America's Trade Agreements, was published in 2013 by Woodrow Wilson Center Press and Johns Hopkins University Press. His previous experience includes 15 years at America's leading high technology industry association. Krist also served five years as a senior official in the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative and worked on trade issues in both the House of Representatives and the Senate.

President-elect Donald Trump will tell Canada and Mexico – our NAFTA partners – that we intend to “immediately renegotiate the terms of that agreement,” and if not, “we will submit notice that the U.S. intends to withdraw from the deal.” The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) can be strengthened to better protect our workers, but there are many possible pitfalls in renegotiating this agreement.

Looking first at some of the pitfalls, the biggest by far would be if we actually withdrew from the agreement. Our exports to Canada and Mexico totaled just over $516 billion in 2015, or some 34 percent of our total exports and an amount equal to some 2.8 percent of our gross domestic product.

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