# Renegotiating NAFTA in the Era of Trump: Keeping the Trade Liberalization In and the Protectionism Out 

August 14, 2017 • Working Paper No. 46 

By [Simon Lester](https://www.cato.org/people/simon-lester), [Inu Manak](https://www.cato.org/people/inu-manak), and [Daniel J. Ikenson](https://www.cato.org/people/daniel-j-ikenson) 

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When the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) came into force in January 1994, it was a groundbreaking achievement. It eliminated nearly all tariffs among three significant trading partners and achieved liberalization on a wide range of other issues (some of which had never before been included in trade agreements). Now the United States, Canada, and Mexico are about to begin an historic renegotiation of NAFTA.

The proposal to renegotiate NAFTA may have been motivated by protectionist objectives. But there is potential to minimize or even avert protectionist outcomes. In the end, renegotiation presents the opportunity to modernize, fix, and expand the rules of NAFTA, and produce a “freer” free trade agreement, which would be good for the North American economy.

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##### Renegotiating NAFTA in the Era of Trump: Keeping the Trade Liberalization In and the Protectionism Out 

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##### About the Authors 

[![Simon Lester](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/author_picture/public/2021-01/Simon%20Lester.jpg?itok=noQ9immh)](/people/simon-lester) 

##### [Simon Lester](/people/simon-lester)

Cofounder, World​TradeLaw​.net, and Former Legal Affairs Officer, Appellate Body Secretariat, World Trade Organization

[![Inu Manak](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/author_picture/public/2021-01/Inu%20Manuk.jpg?itok=8bgu-vN2)](/people/inu-manak) 

##### [Inu Manak](/people/inu-manak)

Fellow for Trade Policy, Council on Foreign Relations

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](https://twitter.com/inumanak) 

[![Daniel J. Ikenson](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/author_picture/public/2021-01/Dan%20Ikenson.jpg?itok=mP30bIXr)](/people/daniel-j-ikenson) 

##### [Daniel J. Ikenson](/people/daniel-j-ikenson)

Former Director, Herbert A. Stiefel Center for Trade Policy Studies

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This work is licensed under a [Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/). 

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