When President Donald Trump has talked about the need for higher tariffs on imports of foreign goods because of a decline in American manufacturing, he has often made the claim that “90,000 plants and factories” in the U.S. closed after the North American Free Trade Agreement took effect in 1994. But that figure is questionable, and experts say other factors, such as automation, had more to do with the large decline in U.S. manufacturing jobs than trade.
Issues: NAFTA
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Trump Wrong on Mexico’s VAT
President Donald Trump wrongly said that “nobody from this country knew” about Mexico’s value-added tax until after NAFTA was signed. A deputy U.S. trade representative at the time NAFTA was put in place said: “US policymakers, embassy officials and tax authorities were fully aware of Mexico’s VAT system.”