Leaving NAFTA: The Insurmountable Legal and Economic Challenges Facing the Trump Administration

Source: www.canada-poland.com

By Sophie Park

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President Donald Trump has repeatedly threatened to pull out of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). The fate of NAFTA is up in the air as negotiators from the United States, Canada, and Mexico try to find agreeable terms. This note examines the brief history of NAFTA and what formidable legal challenges the United States would face if it arbitrarily exits the agreement. The plain text of NAFTA does not allow clear and legally effective withdrawal from it, and the Foreign Affairs Power under the United States Constitution mandates the participation of Congress on the issue.