Trump hasn't improved on Nafta – but at least he hasn't blown up trade | Jeffrey Frankel

All the deal really needed was a new name - and USMCA literally puts 'America First'

Donald Trump acts as if he has pulled off a smashing victory by replacing the North American Free Trade Agreement (Nafta) - supposedly "the worst trade deal ever" - with the new United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement. But the truth is that, while this outcome is better than an end to free trade in North America, the USMCA is no improvement over the status quo.

Of course, this is Trump's modus operandi: threaten to do something catastrophic, so people are relieved when things get only a little bit worse. That is what he did with North Korea, when he insulted its leader, Kim Jong-un, and threatened to rain down "fire and fury" on the country. Compared with nuclear conflict, his eventual meeting with Kim seemed like a triumph, even though it produced little actual progress.

Related: Trump hails 'wonderful new trade deal' with Mexico and Canada