8537
VIP Member
Why do you think he would go for a trade war? Is there no merit in his opinion that we currently are getting the short end of the stick when it comes to trade policy?
There is no merit to that opinion. The idea that the US - the largest, most diverse, most prosperous economy in the world - would sign an agreement that gets us the short end of a trade deal is ludicrous.
If we sign a trade agreement, it's because we're damn sure it will benefit us.
Let me play devil's advocate here a bit.
If we sign a trade agreement, is it because we're damn sure it will benefit us? Or is it because somebody THOUGHT it MIGHT benefit us?
Our economists are smarter than their economists.
Or is it just the best the negotiators were able to get?
Negotiators wouldn't sign an agreement if "the best we were able to get" makes us worse off.
Or is it so the politicians could brag they did something even though they knew it wasn't as good as they tell us it is?
That's actually an interesting thought. I'm sure some politics influences certain aspects of any deal, but the deals themselves are crafted by bureaucrats, not politicians.
For instance, do you think NAFTA has been a really good deal for the USA? Do you favor expanding it?
I think NAFTA has done more good than harm. We're better off with NAFTA than we would be without it. That doesn't excuse its deficiencies - and NAFTA is not a "free trade agreement" in any reasonable sense. It's a very complex set of rules to establish very un-free, restricted trade among three players.
Do you trust the politicians to always do what is right for us?
no.