regarding mary anastasia o<u+2019>grady<u+2019>s <u+201c> trump<u+2019>s nafta mistakes are huge <u+201d> (oct. 3): while mexico lowered its tariffs, this was a great investment for mexicans. they<u+2019>ve run a cumulative, growth-enhancing trade surplus with the u.s. since nafta took effect that will hit $1 trillion by year<u+2019>s end. the u.s. also has an fdi gap: outbound foreign direct investment from the u.s. to canada and mexico totals $452 billion since nafta versus inbound fdi into the u.s. of $240 billion for a net fdi gap of $212 billion. this is a poster child for unbalanced trade and investment, with the u.s. on the short end of the nafta stick. the writer makes the tired claim that the 16% value-added tax (vat) charged by mexico doesn<u+2019>t matter because the mexican consumer ends up paying it, but that inflation and resultant negative impact on demand is precisely the point. mexico has raised its vat twice since nafta and maintains a lower corporate income-tax rate than the u.s.; gm and ford are more likely to invest at the margin in mexico rather than michigan as a result. mexico also gives its maquiladoras special tax deals on some worker benefits, further enhancing mexican advantage. these are just some of the many problems with nafta. all voters need to know in key nafta-impacted states like north carolina, michigan and pennsylvania is that first lady hillary clinton promised us 200,000 new jobs when bill clinton signed nafta in 1993, and to date, according to the economic policy institute, the body count is 850,000 jobs. no wonder blue-collar workers are defecting to the republican camp in masses not seen since the days of ronald reagan. wilbur ross new york
trump<u+2019>s right: nafta has been loser for u.s. - wsj
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