Majority of Americans Want NAFTA Renogiated

A new survey by Rasmusson Reports found that 56 percent of Americans want the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) renegotiated - only 16 percent supported the agreement. The survey seems to indicate an even sharper rejection of the free trade deregulation model than an earlier suvey from October. Rising oil and food prices are likely a factor.

Support for the renegotiation of NAFTA was also a consensus heard at a conference IATP co-organized earlier this year with legislators and NGO leaders from the U.S., Mexico and Canada. For a guide on what renegotiation might look like, we should consider an informal agreement between U.S. and Mexican sugar farmers - where the deal is actually designed to work for farmers in both countries, rather than pitting them against each other. Just as NAFTA served as a blueprint for other free trade agreements around the world, a thoughtful, transparent and democratic renegotiation could serve as a blueprint for rethinking future trade agreements.

(http://iatp.typepad.com/thinkforward/2008/06/majority-of-ame.html)