Obama wants to reopen NAFTA but keep trade flowing

[Wretched Excess]

in effect, he is admitting that labor and environmental provisions are bad for trade.  now, I know that is the truth, but it is sort of surprising to hear him admit it.

he owes organized labor bigtime.  and pelosi/reid couldn't care less about damaging trade, so it's probably just a matter of time before he renders  NAFTA a dead letter.

Obama wants to reopen NAFTA but keep trade flowing

OTTAWA (Reuters) - President Barack Obama said on Tuesday he still wants to reopen the North American Free Trade Agreement, despite a warning from Canada that this would be a mistake, but he said he did not want to end up curbing trade.

In an interview with the Canadian Broadcasting Corp, shortly before his visit to Ottawa on Thursday, Obama also declined to characterize oil from Canada's vast oil sands region as "dirty oil" which should somehow be curtailed.

Obama had alarmed Canada during the Democratic primaries last year when he advocated renegotiating NAFTA, and he reiterated this goal on Tuesday while recognizing these were sensitive economic times.

"As I've said before, NAFTA, the basic framework of the agreement, has environmental and labor protections as side agreements. My argument has always been that we might as well incorporate them into the full agreement so that they're fully enforceable," he said in the interview with CBC television.

However, he also said: "I think there are a lot of sensitivities right now because of the huge decline in world trade."

Obama noted there was $1.5 billion in trade between Canada and the United States every day, adding: "It is not in anybody's interest to see that trade diminish."

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[Chris_]

And our trading partners will say "ah -- this guys is so full of shit that each and every treaty we have with the USA is up for grabs. "

[docstew]

But but, he said he wouldn't renege on NAFTA... He Promised![/DUmmie mode]

who honestly didn't see this coming?  Can't have free trade with nations that have weaker unions than ours, that makes the unions less powerful, and he owes them big

[Wretched Excess]

But but, he said he wouldn't renege on NAFTA... He Promised![/DUmmie mode]

who honestly didn't see this coming?  Can't have free trade with nations that have weaker unions than ours, that makes the unions less powerful, and he owes them big

he said just about everything imaginable about NAFTA.  it's another example of where he woke up the morning after he had clinched the nomination with a completely different agenda.  honestly, the change in views was so comprehensive, that I wondered if there was a pod next to his bed that morning.