GOP senator: Leaving NAFTA ‘disastrously bad’

Sen. Ben Sasse (R-Neb.) on Wednesday warned the Trump administration against abandoning the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).

“Scrapping NAFTA would be a disastrously bad idea,” he said in a statement. “It would hurt American families at the check-out, and it would cripple American producers in the field and the office.”

Sasse admitted that America’s trade relations could improve but argued the deals in place are ultimately beneficial.

{mosads}“Yes, there are places where our agreements could be modernized but here’s the bottom line: trade lowers prices for American consumers and it expands markets for American goods. Risking trade wars is reckless, not wise.”

The Trump administration is weighing an executive order on withdrawing from NAFTA, according to a source familiar with the plans.

The measure is in draft form and has been submitted to the White House staff secretary for the final stages of review, the source said Wednesday.

The order could be unveiled later this week or early next week, and changes are possible during the review process.

The administration following through on the order would ultimately signal America’s intent to leave a major trade pact with Canada and Mexico.

President Trump does not need an executive order to exit NAFTA as the deal stipulates that parties are allowed to leave six months after written notice to the other member nations.

The president has long derided NAFTA, calling the landmark 1994 agreement a “disaster for our country” that has gutted America’s manufacturing sector.

Free-trade supporters argue that NAFTA has been beneficial overall and that job loss is more easily blamed on automation and other economic factors.