Merkley Agrees NAFTA Needs Renegotiated, But Wary Of Trump Administration

The Trump Administration has formally issued a notice to Congress beginning the process of renegotiating the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).

Commenting on the news, Oregon Democrat Senator Jeff Merkley said, “The key question for trade deals is whether they create good-paying jobs for working Americans, or destroy good-paying jobs.”

Merkley admitted that for the last two decades NAFTA has clearly failed this test.

“Trump’s actions to renegotiate NAFTA will only deliver a better result, however, if he operates with a ‘workers first’ perspective – and so far, he hasn’t,” said Merkley in a statement.

As an example, Merkley said, the Trump Administrations health care plan destroys care for millions of workers while delivering $600 billion to the wealthiest Americans.

In the opinion of Merkley, “If Trump’s wealthy and powerful friends dictate the terms of the renegotiation, NAFTA could easily become worse, not better, for working Americans. That’s unacceptable. If we don’t make things in America, we won’t have a middle class in America.”