Half of the respondents (50%) to a recent Zogby Poll for the Foreign Policy Association say they would oppose an expansion of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) to include other Latin American nations. One-third (31%) says they would favor such an expansion, and 19% are unsure.

Americans are divided on NAFTA's value and results.  Polling was conducted September 5 -- 9 of 1,000 likely voters, with a margin of error of +/- 3.2 percentage points.

A decade has passed since the Agreement narrowly passed both houses of Congress. Touted benefits of the Agreement were millions of jobs to be created on both sides of the Rio Grande River, a rise in per capita income in Mexico, and an increase in Mexico's ability to purchase more American goods.

While 37% of respondents say NAFTA has benefited the United States, 34% say it has been bad for the United States. An additional 30% are either unsure (15%) or have no opinion (15%).

When asked whether they believe NAFTA has created more or fewer jobs in the United States, Americans are nearly three times as likely to say NAFTA has resulted in fewer jobs (55%) as to say it has created more jobs (19%). One in four (26%) are unsure.

Democrats (38%), Republicans (37%) and Independents (38%) are equally likely to consider NAFTA beneficial to the United States.

Younger respondents, college graduates and investors are more likely to favor expanding NAFTA.

Hispanics, presumably with greater personal interest in U.S.-Latin American relations, are no more likely than average to favor expanding NAFTA (32%), and are, in fact, significantly more likely to oppose an expansion to Latin American countries other than Mexico (56%). 

The Foreign Policy Association (www.fpa.org) is a non-profit organization in New York City dedicated to inspiring the American public to learn more about the world.