# How much has NAFTA harmed US manufacturing jobs or output?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-has-nafta-harmed-us-manufacturing-jobs-or-output/614078>\
**Category:** Great Debates\
**Created:** [February 26, 2012, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-has-nafta-harmed-us-manufacturing-jobs-or-output/614078 "2012-02-26T20:38:33Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 5\
**Page:** 2

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**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\
**Post date:** [February 27, 2012, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-has-nafta-harmed-us-manufacturing-jobs-or-output/614078/21 "2012-02-27T17:19:40Z")

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> [@2sense](#):
>
> Maybe I’m cynical but why wouldn’t you automatically suspect any study put out by anyone? But not trusting something implicitly is not the same as rejecting it out of hand. You can’t find fault with a study without even looking at it.

Well, no. I would, however, suspect a study put out by a group whose conclusions fall exactly in line with the goals of that group.

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**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\
**Post date:** [February 27, 2012, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-has-nafta-harmed-us-manufacturing-jobs-or-output/614078/22 "2012-02-27T22:41:29Z")

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> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#):
>
> Well, you might start by noting that the Economic Policy Institute is primarily concerned with protecting the jobs of low and middle wage US workers. It’s kind of like posting a citation from FAIR about illegal immigration, or from PETA about factory farming: not worthless, but automatically suspect.

It’s also worth nothing that I can’t get any of their own links to their studies to work.

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**Author:** ![thelabdude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/dc4da7/32.png) [@thelabdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelabdude)\
**Post date:** [February 28, 2012, 3:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-has-nafta-harmed-us-manufacturing-jobs-or-output/614078/23 "2012-02-28T03:04:11Z")

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I always like cites from sites I know who they are. On a medical matter, the AMA is going to be biased, but I have a good guess which way.

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**Author:** ![2sense](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/2/e47774/32.png) [@2sense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/2sense)\
**Post date:** [February 28, 2012, 7:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-has-nafta-harmed-us-manufacturing-jobs-or-output/614078/24 "2012-02-28T07:49:33Z")

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Well thanks for looking it over. Yeah without the background information it fails to provide (I couldn’t find it either) it’s just not helpful. No doubt they were very careful and all but we aren’t just going to take their word for it.

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**Author:** ![Linden\_Arden](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/53a042/32.png) [@Linden\_Arden](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Linden_Arden)\
**Post date:** [March 2, 2012, 2:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-has-nafta-harmed-us-manufacturing-jobs-or-output/614078/25 "2012-03-02T02:56:26Z")

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> [@John\_Mace](#):
>
> A point you made with not one supporting piece of data. Now, you could very well be right, but in this forum we expect more than just your opinion. Care to redo the OP with some research to support your position?

If I could squash dissent with data it would not be a topic worthy of debate.

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