What do people think about re-negotiation of NAFTA?
I see labor unions are for making changes. Some are saying it could hurt national security if we push it too far. So far I'm thinking it would be beneficial to update the agreement to make trade more balanced and update it for the 21st century.
My worry is that anytime you completel 'scrap' a deal, you run the risk of getting an even worse deal. Trump is uber-confident that he's the best deal maker, but it's a legitimate concern. Also an issue is that completely drafting a new deal will almost certainly take a couple of years, tens-of-thousands of staffers time and lots of uncertainty in teh meantime.
Personally, my spouse and I both benefit from NAFTA, since we have been able to study and work in Canada without the visas which would be necessary had we come from elsewhere. So this interjects a lot of uncertainty into our lives. IMO it would be far better to start within the framework we already have and adjust it as necessary. SCrapping and starting over is risky, time consuming and costly.
One of the biggest problems I see with NAFTA is that it doesn't mention lots of job categories that simply didn't exist when it was drafted in 1996 (?). So that clearly needs to be addressed, as does more comprehensive rules on 'guest' and non-resident/temporary workers.