The United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) is back in the news this week. The USMCA is NAFTA 2.0. NAFTA is often blamed as the reason why poverty has exacerbated in México. In 1991, I published a white paper on NAFTA; “North American Free Trade Agreement – A Hesitant Handshake Between Neighbors”. (link) This paper was the… Read More Understanding the Mexican Worker to Understand NAFTA/USMCA
It is with great sadness that I must now admit that the future is bleak with nationalism and xenophobia driving the political agendas of the major countries. Last week’s win by Boris Johnson make this crystal clear. For those that might not remember, Johnson was one of the major architects behind Brexit. His recent campaign… Read More Nationalism Is Now The Future
Last Sunday was the one-year anniversary for Andrés Manuel López Obrador, also known as AMLO, as Mexico’s current president. AMLO won the presidency promising to radically change the politics of the country. He promised to end the violence and reign in the corruption. His promises amount to what he has dubbed as the Fourth Transformation… Read More AMLO One Year Later
Donald Trump is using the US, México and Canada agreement as a distraction tool. The USMCA is nothing more than NAFTA 2.0. The United States economy depends heavily on NAFTA. This is especially true for the Republican-controlled states like Texas. Donald Trump and cohorts are blaming Nancy Pelosi for holding up the adoption of the… Read More Stop Worrying About USMCA
While most of you aren’t looking, a very telling moment in Donald Trump’s presidency is happening across the nation. There are over 40,000 auto workers on strike against General Motors. The UAW workers are on the fifth day of a national strike. As you might remember, Donald Trump promised to bring back jobs to the… Read More What Happened to the Manufacturing Jobs
I just purchased a Jeep Wrangler. It is my first “American” car. You may have noticed the quotation marks around American. I purposely added them for two reasons. The first is that “American” designates the American continent. Although many U.S. citizens consider themselves American, they are, in fact U.S. citizens. There are still individuals that… Read More American-Made Car?
So far the Republicans have accepted the problems that Donald Trump has caused the party because Donald Trump is delivering on the appointment of conservative judges to the federal benches, as well as tax reform. In addition, the Republicans believe that if they can get Trump into his final term, it would bode well for… Read More The Republican Achilles is NAFTA 2
In announcing the new free trade agreement; the United States-Mexico-Canada-Agreement (USMCA), Donald Trump tried to disguise it as “it’s not Nafta redone, it’s a brand-new deal.” The fact is that the USMCA is NAFTA 2.0. Like “Mexico will pay for the wall,” the promise by Trump to end NAFTA is also just another undelivered promise… Read More Donald Trump Breaks NAFTA Promise to His Base
In August I posted a piece on how the Chinese trade war – that Donald Trump is escalating – benefits México bigley as Trump likes to say. (link) I was pleasantly surprised to see The Business Insider publish; “These US trading partners could pick up the slack if Trump’s trade war with China escalates” by… Read More Trump’s War On Chinese Trade Benefits Mexico
Looking at the aerospace industry in México yesterday, we saw how México is growing its aerospace manufacturing prowess through strategic partnerships with manufacturers. We also noted how the Mexican military has embarked on the plan to reduce its military reliance on foreign equipment. The annual budget for the Mexican defense budget is expected to continue… Read More The Mexican Military Industrial Complex
Donald Trump is lying to you about the “new” United States-Mexico Trade Agreement. I know, what a shocker. The reality is that the bilateral trade agreement is NAFTA 2.0. Let me explain. There is a lot of spin, especially from Donald Trump but also from special interest groups like the automotive unions about the revised… Read More Mexico Won Bigly on NAFTA Deal
As you all likely know, Donald Trump launched his presidential campaign by denigrating México, Mexicans and immigrants. Trump called NAFTA the “worst deal” ever. Donald Trump consistently threatened to scrap NAFTA. Throughout the political rhetoric, renegotiating NAFTA has been happening, often in the background and sometimes out in the open. But things have changed in… Read More The Mexico Factor
México is fighting the México-U.S. Trade War intelligently by making sure the American worker understands how Trump’s attacks on Mexican trade will hurt them directly. When México imposed the 25% retaliatory tariff on whiskey, it strategically targeted the Republicans and Tennessee workers to make the point that Donald Trump’s trade sanctions will hurt American workers.… Read More Mexico Chose Whiskey to Make A Point
Donald Trump promised to end the “disastrous” NAFTA agreement as soon as he took office. Then, reality slapped him across the face and Trump had to figure out a way to save face and keep America’s economy moving. The problem is that NAFTA has intertwined the economies of Canada, México and the United States into… Read More Trump NAFTA Strategy is Divide and Conquer
Enrique Peña Nieto, the current president of México, like his predecessors, is chasing the Almighty Dollar. This is the single most significant reason that Donald Trump can denigrate Mexicans, because the Mexican government would rather play “political niceties” rather than stand up to the bully that Donald Trump is. The Peña Nieto government believes that… Read More México and the Almighty Dollar
Trickle down economics is a dirty word for many readers. Apparently, the notion is that trickle down economics only benefits a certain segment of the economy. However, my experience has been that trickle-down economics benefits more individuals then it hurts. I have experienced trickle-down economics first hand. I am neither poor nor am I wealthy.… Read More Trickle Down Economics
On Tuesday I received my iPhone X, after waiting almost a month to have it my hands. The journey my iPhone made from manufacturing to my hands explains why attacking NAFTA endangers American workers. I use American to refer to workers in the United States, Canada and México, after all we are in North America.… Read More Why Donald Trump Has NAFTA All Wrong
There is now doubt that the Mexican economy is heavily dependent upon NAFTA. The Mexican economy was battered initially when Donald Trump threatened to withdraw from NAFTA. The latest round of the renegotiation meetings between the governments of Canada, México and the United States ended with Canada and México telling the Trump administration that they are… Read More The Mexican Economy Post Donald Trump
In 2006, the City of El Paso paid $100,000 to a dubious research firm to create the Glass Beach Study presumably to rebrand the future for El Paso. The study created much controversy in the El Paso community because it suggested that El Paso would be better off if it was de-Mexicanized. The study depicted… Read More The El Paso Glass Beach Study in the Trump White House
On Tuesday, the Fourth Round of NAFTA negotiations concluded. Leading the U.S. delegation was United States Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer. The Canadian delegation was led by Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland and Mexican Secretary of the Economy, Ildefosno Guajardo led the Mexican delegation. The three ministers issued a joint statement stating that the concluded… Read More NAFTA Closer to Ending
In 1991, I published “A Hesitant Handshake Between Neighbors”. It was a writeup about NAFTA. In the essay I pointed how that the United States had been relying on import quotas for trade protection before NAFTA. It seems that Donald Trump wants to go back to protecting U.S. jobs by limiting imports. To limit imports,… Read More The Tomatoes Are Too Red For Some NAFTA Complainers
The loss of jobs has been central to every economic evolution throughout history. Those angry about the job losses only have themselves to blame. They are losing their jobs because instead of living life proactively, they live it reactively. Evolution is not intended to be reactive. It is supposed to be proactive. But throughout history… Read More Amazon, Jobs and NAFTA
(Note: I received some reports yesterday that some readers were being redirected to a porn site. The blog was hacked. I have removed the malicious code and I believe the site is now working as it should. Should you experience any issues, please let me know.) The debate over the benefits of NAFTA versus the… Read More NAFTA and Mexican Immigration
Yesterday, the Washington Post published a White House transcription of a telephone call between Mexico’s president, Enrique Peña Nieto and Donald Trump on January 27, 2017. The telephone call happened seven days into Donald Trump’s administration. Below is the original telephone call transcription as published by the Washington Post. I have annotated my comments throughout… Read More Annotated January 27 Telephone Call Between Trump and Pena Nieto
Also lost in the noise and the distractions about the Russian scandal and healthcare reform is another little piece of information that Donald Trump and his supporters do not want you to notice. In the first six months of this year, U.S. consumers are still buying Made in Mexico cars over the U.S. versions. This,… Read More Car Shoppers Still Buying Mexican Made Cars
As you likely remember, Donald Trump called the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) the worst trade deal the United States has entered. During his presidential campaign, Trump argued he was going to end NAFTA. After the election, he toned down his argument, instead now arguing that he would renegotiate NAFTA, and if need be,… Read More NAFTA Negotiations
Yesterday we looked at the Carrier deal and how it is nothing more than a saving jobs smoke-and-mirror narrative. As we saw, Donald Trump bribed Carrier $14,830 per job it kept in Indiana. We also looked at how Donald Trump demonized México as a job killer. Like Carrier, Donald Trump also strong-armed Ford into keeping… Read More China is Our Friend, Mexico is Not
Unless you are living under a rock then you likely know that a special counsel was appointed on Wednesday to investigate allegations of Russian influence over the 2016 election. Hold you pitchforks for a moment and note that I wrote that the special counsel will investigate allegations of Russian interference. Like everyone else, I do… Read More Again, The Wall Will Not be Built
In late April, various rumors of a draft memorandum from the Donald Trump administration notifying Congress that the United States intended to withdraw from NAFTA began to appear. Then on April 27, 2017, Donald Trump told the nation that personal calls from the leaders of Canada and México convinced him to renegotiate NAFTA, rather than… Read More Trump Bluffs on NAFTA
The day before it was The Wall. Yesterday it was NAFTA. Donald Trump has yet to keep a single promise that he made to his supporters. That hasn’t stopped his voters from pretending that it is the liberals, or the media, or whoever they can blame for the worst result from any president ever. But… Read More Donald Trump Back Peddles on NAFTA
This week I shared with you how the genesis of NAFTA was an investment bank’s attempt to take control of the Mexican oil. Yesterday, we looked at the arrival of México’s only fleet of supersonic interceptors and noted their retirement last year. The Mexican F5 Tigres operated in México for 34 years. They represent the… Read More Yankee Imperialism is Still Alive
Author’s note: This is part 3 of 3 The proponents of the common market scheme knew of México’s continued resistance to the common market plan. They softened up the approach towards México by moving away from the loss of sovereignty issue to a more palatable agreement of sharing resources, including financial assistance and private investment.… Read More The Western Hemisphere Energy Workshops
Author’s note: This is part 2 of 3 The North American Common Market, outlined by the report, envisioned a marketplace with the “free movement across of the borders of all commodities, particularly oil and gas, but people as well.” The effort would strengthen the United States against oil manipulation by the Arab nations and protect… Read More The Common Market
Author’s note: This is part 1 of 3 The United States will go to war for oil rang the headlines across México and much of the world throughout the late 1970’s and early 1980’s. On February 14, 1979, then-president Jimmy Carter, a Democrat, was set to meet with Mexican president José López Portillo. Both heads… Read More Good Neighbor Policy
Many conservatives in the United States like to channel Ronald Reagan as the image of the “America First” doctrine and true U.S.-centric conservatism. This narrative is part of the fiction that is driving today’s far right-wing conservatism that put Donald Trump into office. The problem, though, is that it is all based on a lie.… Read More Ronald Reagan and Open Borders
Over the last two days we took a close look at NAFTA and the global trade between México and the United States. Many decry that NAFTA has destroyed jobs on both sides of the border. Donald Trump has singled out NAFTA as the worst trade agreement that the United States ever signed. Is the dislike… Read More Is NAFTA Good for El Paso?
When asked, the likely answer to the question about what México exports to the United States is that it exports fruits and vegetables, with some respondents adding automobiles to the list. Others will argue that oil is central to the Mexican export economy. However, a review of the most recent trade data, between México and… Read More NAFTA – It is about global competitiveness for U.S. companies
There is a general misunderstanding about the trade of manufactured products between México and the United States. Much of the misconception comes from the notion that Mexico’s economy has not matured to the level that it has. Global trade is a complex issue involving many moving and dynamic pieces that goes beyond simply moving car… Read More NAFTA: Introduction to “It is more than avocados, beer and cars”
It seems that some readers of the blog are wondering if I am going to go back to writing about El Paso politics. My interest has always been about border politics, of which El Paso plays a major role. I started commenting about border politics because of the general notion that México is corrupt and… Read More El Paso Politics
As expected, Donald Trump is now backtracking on doing away with NAFTA, or substantially renegotiating it, as he promised during the campaign. This is because the reality of NAFTA sobered up his political rhetoric when his supporters realized the cost to them. Supply chains and global trade are very complex systems that cannot be debated… Read More Donald Trump Backtracks on NAFTA