Many years after we were supposed to reap the alleged benefits of the North American Free Trade Agreement, it continues to threaten American jobs. Since it went into effect in 1994, NAFTA has been a job-destroying machine in the United States, and it shows no signs of relenting. This misguided agreement must be reversed or amended if the United States is ever to regain its economic prowess.

Prior to the enactment of NAFTA, the United States had a trade surplus with Mexico. After NAFTA was put into effect, that surplus became a trade deficit, destroying scores of American jobs. According to the Economic Policy Institute, the U.S. trade deficit with Mexico alone had displaced 682,900 U.S. jobs as of 2010. This figure will most likely continue to increase with the enactment of an additional provision of the trade agreement.

NAFTA included a provision that the United States and Mexico would allow trucks from either country to do cross-border hauls to locations anywhere in the other country. The provision had previously not been enacted, but the Obama administration proposed a pilot program that will allow Mexican trucks into the U.S.

Safety standards in Mexico are simply not on par with those of the U.S. These Mexican trucks may potentially be driven by under-qualified drivers or have substandard safety equipment, which creates a safety hazard for U.S. drivers. They may also be more likely to be overloaded, which damages roads and increases costs to the U.S.

Outsourcing our trucking will compound the problems already seen due to the outsourcing of manufacturing. If using cheap Mexican shipping companies lowers the cost of American companies moving their manufacturing out of the U.S. even further, the job losses from NAFTA will continue to increase.

U.S. trucking companies have little to gain from any reciprocal nature to this agreement. The market for U.S. goods exported to Mexico is not large, and cartel violence makes the risk of doing business in the country too great for most companies. This is yet another example of why trade agreements need to be examined on a case-by-case basis to see how they benefit the United States.

NAFTA has proven again and again to be a job killer for the U.S., and it’s only getting worse. Contact your representative to help make America’s voice heard. NAFTA has threatened our economy, our sovereignty and our safety for far too long.

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