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The sniping is unfair.
這樣的指責其實是不公正的。
Unexpected shocks prevented the deal from reaching its full potential.
意想不到的危機使得這份協定沒辦法充分展示其潛力。
Both the peso crisis of 1994-95 and the global financial crisis dealt blows to trade between the two countries.
1994年至1995年的比索危機以及全球金融危機對美墨兩國的貿易造成了巨大的打擊。
So did the American border controls introduced after the attacks of September 11th 2001, which raised the cost of moving goods and people.
再加上2001年9月11日美國本土遭受襲擊之后推行的邊境控制，更是提高了商品運輸和人們出行的流通成本，同樣也對兩國貿易構成打擊。
The rapid, disruptive growth of China also interfered with North American integration.
中國經濟迅疾而又極具顛覆性的發展也影響到北美經濟一體化進程。
The Chinese economy, accounting for more than 13% of global exports and around 25% of global manufacturing value-added, exerts an irresistible pull on global supply chains.
占到全球出口總額13％以上，全球制造業增加值約25%的中國經濟，對全球供應鏈有著難以抗拒的吸引力。
Nor is NAFTA chiefly responsible for the woes of the American worker.
然而對于美國的工人來說，北美自由貿易協定并不是他們痛苦的主要來源。
In a recent essay Brad DeLong, an economic historian at the University of California, Berkeley, reckoned NAFTA might be blamed for net job losses of the order of 0.1% of the American labor force—fewer jobs than the American economy adds in a typical month.
加州伯克利大學的經濟學史家布拉德帝龍在最近的一篇論文中指出，美國勞動力人口中只有0.1％的凈裁員可以歸咎于北美自由貿易協定，而這個數目比美國經濟體一個月內增加的工作崗位數還要少。
Even without NAFTA, manufacturing jobs would have dwindled.
即使北美自由貿易協定沒有簽署，制造業的工作崗位也還是會減少。
The strong dollar and better transport and communications technology made it more attractive to produce abroad.
堅挺的美元、優質的運輸以及發達的通信技術都使得將工廠開在國外如此吸引人。
Automation hastened the persistent long-term decline in industrial employment that is familiar in all rich economies— even in export powerhouses such as Germany.
自動化則加速了長久以來工業領域就業的下滑，這一現象在發達國家很常見，即便是如德國這樣的出口大國。
Most important, the failure to agree a trade deal with Mexico would not have altered North American geography.
最為重要的是，與墨西哥達成貿易協定的失敗并不會改變北美的地理情況。
Mexico shares a 3,200km-long border with the world’s largest economy.
墨西哥與美國，世界上最大的經濟體接壤，邊境線達3200千米之遠。
It is almost inevitable that America will be Mexico’s largest trading partner (America currently accounts for more than 70% of Mexican exports and more than 50% of its imports) .
幾乎不可避免，美國將成為墨西哥最大的貿易伙伴 (現今墨西哥出口量超過70％銷往美國，進口量超過50%源于美國。)
Deep familial and cultural ties across the border shrink the distance between them even more.
美墨兩國間深厚的家族和文化淵源進一步縮短了兩國間的距離。
Mexico cannot help but be critically dependent on its neighbor’s economy.
墨西哥只能緊緊地依附于其鄰國美國的經濟。
And America unquestionably benefits when Mexico, which has the world’s tenth-largest population and 15th-biggest economy, is more prosperous.
毫無疑問，當墨西哥這個擁有世界上第10大人口、第15大國土的國家更加繁榮昌盛時，美國也會受益更多。
A richer Mexico would buy more American goods and services and provide more ideas, talent and innovation.
更加富裕的墨西哥會從美國購買更多的商品和服務，并為之提供更多的想法、人才和革新。
It would also be better placed to manage migration, and a stronger diplomatic partner.
墨西哥也許可以更好地處理移民問題，成為美國更為強大的外交伙伴。
Eliminating tariffs on Mexico would not instantly transform it into Canada, but the notion that higher trade costs between the two economies would serve American interests better is, at best, short-sighted.
免除墨西哥商品的關稅不會使墨西哥立即轉變為加拿大那樣的國家，調高美墨兩國之間的貿易成本會對美國更加有利的觀點，充其量只是一種目光短淺的看法。
No wall can insulate America against events to its south, and Americans’ own well-being is intimately linked to the welfare of their around 125m Mexican neighbors.
沒有哪一堵墻可以將美國的事件與南方的墨西哥隔絕開，畢竟美國自身的經濟狀況與擁有1.25億人口的墨西哥鄰國的福祉緊密相連。
It is hard to blame Americans for seeing globalization as a zero-sum affair.
美國人將全球化視為一場零和博弈也并不完全是他們的過錯。
Stagnant pay, rising inequality and government complacency as industrial regions suffered long-term decline have obscured the benefits of trade and created fertile ground for populists.
工業區逐年衰落，停滯不前的薪酬、加劇的不平等和政府自滿遮蓋了國家從貿易中取得的利益，也為民粹主義者的嘲諷創造了契機。
As a result Americans feel let down by NAFTA.
因此，美國人對北美自由貿易協定倍感失望。
Yet NAFTA has itself been let down by American leaders, who neither made the case that higher living standards are a positive-sum game, nor allowed the benefits of growth to be broadly shared.
美國領導層同樣對北美自由貿易協定失望不已，但是他們既沒有認識到該協定是一個可以同時提高本國人民生活水平的正和博弈，也阻止了其發展成果廣泛共享，北美自由貿易協定在實施過程中也受到很多阻礙。
If the upshot is the disintegration of the North American economy, those on both sides of the Rio Grande will be worse off.
如果說這份貿易協定帶來的結果是北美經濟的分崩離析，只怕美墨兩國情況都會更加糟糕。
