COLUMN: Around the World: Free Trade
Paul Nickerson
Issue date: 3/11/10 Section: News
As Messiah College students engage in activities like the free-trade chocolate "buycott," it is necessary to consider the actions of the United States in regard to free trade. In recent news, according to the article US Lawmakers Launch to Push to Repeal NAFTA by Doug Palmer, "a small group of U.S. lawmakers unveiled legislation on Thursday to withdraw from the North American Free Trade Agreement."
According to the USDA website, "Under the NAFTA, all non-tariff barriers to agricultural trade between the United States and Mexico were eliminated." The USDA says, "In addition, many tariffs were eliminated immediately, with others being phased out over periods of 5 to 15 years."
According to Representative Gene Taylor, a Mississippi Democrat, "spearheading" the bill, "at a time when 10 to 12 percent of the American people are unemployed, I think Congress has an obligation to put people back to work." Palmer writes that Taylor, "argued NAFTA has cost the United States millions of manufacturing jobs, and hurt national security by encouraging companies to move production." Taylor further argues that the high unemployment rates make this the ideal time for the repeal, regardless of past failed attempts. With the stage set , Taylor believes, "You'll see the American people rally behind this."
Palmer says, "Business groups like the National Association of Manufacturers and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce strongly support NAFTA, which they say has spurred U.S. economic growth by tearing down trade barriers between the three countries." Palmer says the United States will begin talks with other countries, such as Australia, New Zealand, Chile, and Peru.
While some groups may be against the repeal, Pat Summers, of Fox News, reports in his article "Democratic Lawmaker Leads Bipartisan Effort to Repeal NAFTA", figures that showed the U.S. enjoyed a $1.7 billion dollar trade surplus with Mexico in 1993, before NAFTA, compared to a $47.5 billion dollar trade deficit with Mexico in 2009."
Summers continues, saying that Taylor "called the 29 percent loss of jobs in US manufacturing since 1993 a matter of national defense and pointed to a number of companies who have moved their production to Mexico as cause for concern."
One of the largest areas of discussion in regard to the NAFTA repeal is the actions of President Obama, who, Summers says, "criticized NAFTA during the 2008 presidential election, insisting, 'trade policies are not sustainable if they favor the few, rather than the many.'"
While President Obama addresses this issue in his campaign, Palmer writes that President Obama "has not followed through on threats to withdraw from the agreement if Canada and Mexico did not agree to revamp the pact's labor and environmental provisions."
According to the USDA website, "Under the NAFTA, all non-tariff barriers to agricultural trade between the United States and Mexico were eliminated." The USDA says, "In addition, many tariffs were eliminated immediately, with others being phased out over periods of 5 to 15 years."
According to Representative Gene Taylor, a Mississippi Democrat, "spearheading" the bill, "at a time when 10 to 12 percent of the American people are unemployed, I think Congress has an obligation to put people back to work." Palmer writes that Taylor, "argued NAFTA has cost the United States millions of manufacturing jobs, and hurt national security by encouraging companies to move production." Taylor further argues that the high unemployment rates make this the ideal time for the repeal, regardless of past failed attempts. With the stage set , Taylor believes, "You'll see the American people rally behind this."
Palmer says, "Business groups like the National Association of Manufacturers and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce strongly support NAFTA, which they say has spurred U.S. economic growth by tearing down trade barriers between the three countries." Palmer says the United States will begin talks with other countries, such as Australia, New Zealand, Chile, and Peru.
While some groups may be against the repeal, Pat Summers, of Fox News, reports in his article "Democratic Lawmaker Leads Bipartisan Effort to Repeal NAFTA", figures that showed the U.S. enjoyed a $1.7 billion dollar trade surplus with Mexico in 1993, before NAFTA, compared to a $47.5 billion dollar trade deficit with Mexico in 2009."
Summers continues, saying that Taylor "called the 29 percent loss of jobs in US manufacturing since 1993 a matter of national defense and pointed to a number of companies who have moved their production to Mexico as cause for concern."
One of the largest areas of discussion in regard to the NAFTA repeal is the actions of President Obama, who, Summers says, "criticized NAFTA during the 2008 presidential election, insisting, 'trade policies are not sustainable if they favor the few, rather than the many.'"
While President Obama addresses this issue in his campaign, Palmer writes that President Obama "has not followed through on threats to withdraw from the agreement if Canada and Mexico did not agree to revamp the pact's labor and environmental provisions."
Viewing Comments 1 - 1 of 1
Pete
posted 3/22/10 @ 10:59 AM EST
Is the author of this article even aware that there is an enormous difference between the concepts of free trade and fair trade? Free trade refers to "a general openness to exchange goods and information between and among nations with few-to-no barriers-to-trade," while fair trade refers to "exchanges, the terms of which meet the demands of justice. (Continued…)
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