Kansas gubernatorial candidate and Secretary of State Kris Kobach said on Tuesday that President Trump’s new bilateral trade deal with Mexico will “add jobs” to the state of Kansas, unlike the job-killing free trade deals of past administrations.
On Monday, Trump announced the United States-Mexico Trade Agreement, with which he seeks to replace the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).
The trade agreement, Trump said, “is very special for our manufacturers and for our farmers from both countries” and will be a “much more fair bill” than NAFTA, which resulted in the loss of more than a million American jobs being eliminated from the economy.
In a statement to the press, Kobach said Trump’s bilateral trade deal will bring U.S. jobs back to Kansas:
Today’s announcement by President Trump of a new trade agreement with Mexico will help expand the Kansas economy, including for our farmers and manufacturing industry. Of particular interest is the increase in the amount of auto content to be made in the U.S. and Mexico, which will grow America’s auto industry, including the GM Fairfax plant in Kansas City.
This will add jobs right here in Kansas. As governor, I look forward to working to expand the entire Kansas economy and create jobs for hard-working Kansans. Today’s announcement will help with that goal, and I am confident that President Trump will be able to secure a new trade deal with Canada that will spur job growth here in Kansas [emphasis added].
NAFTA, specifically, along with China’s membership in the World Trade Organization (WTO) in 2001, spurred job loss across the country, including in Kansas.
For example, by 2010, the surging U.S. trade deficit with Mexico, which resulted from NAFTA, eliminated or outsourced at least 5,100 American jobs in Kansas. Similarly, 19,100 American jobs were eliminated or outsourced by 2013 in Kansas because China was allowed to join the WTO.
Nearly 26,000 laid off American workers in Kansas have applied for federal benefits after they said they lost their jobs to free trade deals.
Full Disclosure: Kris Kobach is a columnist for Breitbart News.
John Binder is a reporter for Breitbart News. Follow him on Twitter at @JxhnBinder.
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