What’s in a name? Well, when it comes to NAFTA, a trade deal by any other name would be twice as sweet.
My apologies for twisting a classic line from Shakespeare, but there could be a lot of truth in that statement.
Former U.S. ambassador to Canada, Bruce Heyman, suggested that the best way to get a good trade deal with the Americans is to drop the name NAFTA — and he may be on to something.
With all the bombast and rhetoric about NAFTA that Trump has spewed, most of it untrue by the way, the term, NAFTA, is toxic to Trump supporters south of the border.
There’s no way they will accept any kind of trade deal called NAFTA because Trump has labelled NAFTA as evil, and a major cause of American economic woes.
Trump’s rise to power was predicated on him instilling fear and loathing among the American people.
Latinos and Muslims were constant targets, but so too was NAFTA, and it’s not likely that he’ll let up on the fear mongering anytime soon.
The marketing term for altering a product is re-branding, and NAFTA could certainly use that kind of radical makeover.
Appealing to Trump with logic and facts clearly isn’t working.
But, if we make a trade deal shiny and brand new, it just might work.
Bill Kelly is the host of Bill Kelly Show on AM 900 CHML and a commentator for Global News