Americans are equally divided over NAFTA: Gallup

While U.S. President Donald Trump calls the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) a horrible deal, Americans are almost equally split on whether the deal has been good or bad for the country, found a latest Gallup poll.

Forty-eight percent of Americans say it has been good for the country, while 46 percent say it is has been bad, according to a Gallup poll released on Friday.

Only 22 percent of Republicans say NAFTA is a good deal, down from 40 percent in 2004 and 46 percent in 2000. In contrast, 67 percent of Democrats now say NAFTA has been good for the country, up from 39 percent in 2004 and 49 percent in 2000, according to Gallup.

The trajectory of independents' views has been similar to Democrats, with their support increasing from 37 percent in 2004 to 53 percent now.

The poll comes as Trump is threatening to scrap or tweak the agreement that has guided U.S.-Canada-Mexico trade for over two decades, and it remains unknown precisely what the outcome will be.

NAFTA is a complex trade agreement that many Americans may not understand, and even top economists still disagree on whether it has been effective.

Trump has promised to forge bilateral trade agreements with nations across the globe, but it remains to be seen whether he will establish separate agreements with both Canada and Mexico, Gallup noted.

NAFTA has been contentious since its inception in 1994. When Gallup first asked about its effects in 1997, 37 percent of Americans said it was good, 47 percent said it was bad and 16 percent had no opinion.

The good and bad figures essentially reversed in the next reading in 2000 and then flipped back again in 2004 -- the last measurement until this year, Gallup said. Enditem