President Trump, frustrated that Congress has not approved the funding for his border wall, proposed escalating tariffs on Mexico until Mexico ends illegal immigration. According to the president, the tariffs—akin to a tax on US consumers—would start at 5 percent on all Mexican imports in June but could escalate as high as 25 percent by the fall. Foreseeable Consequences This…
President Trump often says our trade partners treat us unfairly. Yet one of his first acts as president was to withdraw from a trade pact agreement designed to give favored treatment to its signatories. On Dec. 30, 2018, that pact, the Comprehensive and Progressive Trans-Pacific Partnership (known as TPP), went into effect without the United States. The TPP is a…
After protracted smashmouth negotiations, the United States, Canada, and Mexico agreed to replace the North American Free Trade Agreement (“NAFTA”) with the new United States Mexico Canada Agreement (“USMCA”) on November 30, 2018. The new USMCA is largely NAFTA with certain positive elements drawn from the Trans-Pacific Partnership (“TPP”). Unfortunately, certain new protectionist provisions unnecessarily take the USMCA in the wrong direction. Now, a new trade…
NAFTA AND USMCA: Is North American Free Trade Good for Texas? Doug McCullough, Director of Lone Star Policy Institute Adapted from comments at the TPPF 2019 Policy Orientation. Video available here courtesy of Texas Public Policy Foundation Free Trade is Important for Texas and the United States. Texas is the nation’s largest exporter and the second largest manufacturer. Our top two…
The Lone Star Policy Institute’s Doug McCullough joined Dennis McCuistion on The McCuistion Program for a discussion about Trade Wars: NAFTA and Beyond. The episode premiered on October 14, 2018 on the PBS channel. Watch the episode here.
Last week, the United States and Canada failed to reach an agreement on the ongoing NAFTA 2.0 renegotiation. Going into last week it was widely expected that any NAFTA deal would need to be concluded by the end of August. Nevertheless, Canada and the United States resume talks this week. Instead of closing the deal on a renewed trilateral treaty,…
TEXAS STANDARD – APRIL 31, 2018 “Texas is the nation’s largest exporter….Texas exports $22.8 billion annually to Canada, so I think it would have a real impact on Texas companies,” McCullough says. McCullough says if the U.S. imposes tariffs on Canada, Canada would likely retaliate and that would reduce demand for Texas products. McCullough says it would be better for…
SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS – AUGUST 31, 2018 Scuttling free trade with Canada would have a disproportionate impact on Texas. Texas is the nation’s top exporter and has a trade surplus with Canada. Texas exports about $22.8 billion of goods annually to Canada, its second-largest trade partner. The elimination of a free trade agreement with Canada would harm Texas consumers, who…
Lone Star Policy Institute director, Doug McCullough, was recently asked to be a panelist at the SMU Economic Forum on Trump and the Texas Economy. This event was a fast-paced and informative forum on Texas’s growing economy. Other panelists included Merrill Matthews of the Institute for Policy Innovation, Vance Ginn of the Texas Public Policy Foundation and W. Michael Cox…
A North American Common Market. The idea of a North American common market dates back at least to Ronald Reagan during his 1980 presidential campaign. Despite musing that it might take one hundred years to make the North American accord a reality, the North American Free Trade Agreement went into effect on January 1, 1994. At the time of its…