NAFTA Myth of the Day

Conn Carroll / March 04, 2008

With the leading presidential candidates doubling down on their anti-trade promises, it is important that the facts about the benefits of trade are repeated as often as possible to counter their deceitful populist rhetoric. Today’s ‘NAFTA Myth of the Day’ comes courtesy of Cato Institute’s Center for Trade Policy Studies director Daniel Griswold. Griswold wrote last week:

Ohio workers would pay a heavy price for pulling out of NAFTA. Canada and Mexico are the top two markets for exports from Ohio, accounting for more than half of the state’s exports in 2006. According to the Ohio Department of Development, 283,500 workers in the state earn their living in the export sector, with machinery, car parts, aircraft engines and optical/medical equipment among the leading exports. A trade showdown would put those good-paying jobs at risk.