NAFTA 2.0 could draw some jobs back to US, but at what cost?

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump insists his new North American trade deal will deliver a victory for U.S. factory workers by returning many high-paying jobs to the United States.

Maybe. But a review of the agreement suggests that it could also mean higher prices for consumers and more inefficiencies for businesses. And the biggest winners might end up being robots and the companies that make them.

As Americans vote in the midterm elections, Trump is heralding the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement as a triumph for his antagonistic trade policy — an approach that he says will usher in “a new dawn for the American auto industry and the American auto worker.”

The pact, unveiled Sept. 30, does appear to meet some of Trump’s goals. It could shift more factory production to the United States.