Is anyone interested in what NZ press has to say about NAFTA? Hurts industry in Mexico and US alike? Thoughts

Question

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http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/WO0708/S00290.htm

Answer 1

Man, that was a long article!
But informative.


I can't say the evidence it presents surprises me. I sent letters to my Senators and Congressmen in 1993, arguing to not pass NAFTA, predicting exactly what this article documented.

I would wager that working conditions at offshored U.S. manufacturing companies, in sweat-shop conditions and wages that are low even for third-world countries, have contributed to anti-Americanism worldwide.
I urged that, because wages were (and still are) much lower outside the U.S., and that if NAFTA was to be passed, it should provide proportional wages and benefits to third-world workers, to even the competition with American workers, and insure that if U.S. jobs went overseas, that they would at least be contributing to improving the living standard in these third-world countries.

But of course, it passed without these provisions. And the third world nations are predictably suffering, in low-wage sweat-shop exploitation, while wage earners in both the U.S. and abroad suffer from this terrible NAFTA policy.

None of these things reported surprise me:

1) Exploitation in sweat-shop conditions, low wages, terrible safety violations, and the choice of third-world workers to either tolerate it, or be unemployed and even more impoverished.

2) Predictably terrible exploitation in these sweat-shop jobs (or Maquiladoras). That rather than creating jobs and economic opportunities, actually stagnates these third-world economies, and encourages third-world immigration to the U.S.(both legal and illegal), especially from Mexico.

3) That NAFTA has resulted in a net increase in the U.S. trade deficit. (While U.S. exports are increased, cheap imports from these free-trade nations TO the U.S. are double and triple our exports, resulting in a massive net loss for the U.S. economy.)

4) Labor unions in the U.S. are weakened. When unions ask for reasonable increases, manufacturers can just threaten that workers don't settle for their existing wages, the manufacturer will just fire everyone and move the factory to Mexico or China. I was astonishe that this point-blank ultimatum is used in a whopping 68% of labor/manufacturer negotiations!


I agree with the conclusions 100%:
"The evidence is overwhelming. NAFTA has damaged the manufacturing industry in the U.S. and Mexico."

The report offers suggestions of how to correct NAFTA. But I would rather see NAFTA abolished altogether. We've lost 3 million manufacturing jobs (up through 2004) in the U.S. just since Bush became president.
And that's not including the previous massive export of industrial jobs under Reagan, Bush Sr., and Clinton.

It's a bipartisan attack on America's middle class. The only difference is the export of jobs has been more accellerated over the last 6 years.
Would that we could abolish NAFTA tomorrow, and get someone elected who would support the interests of the people, over those of corporate America.

Answer 2

NAFTA is finally starting to be seen for what it is, a complete disaster to all but the elite in each country involved.

NAFTA in the United States has taken decent paying middle class jobs that have supported families for generations to Mexico and turned them into indentured servitude or sweatshops. The jobs that were generated in the United States were lower wage without benefits. The Mexican workers have no one to safeguard their human rights so they are easy prey for greedy companies and greedy politicians. Wages in the United States are stagnant and companies are doing away with benefit packages.


Edit:

Outrageous5,

Agreed...

Answer 3

American companies have moved to Mexico & other countries and hired cheap labor as a means to providing a lower-priced item (i.e. Wal-mart). This is an easy way for companies to evade labor unions, health benefits, environmental laws ,etc. Its a disaster

Answer 4

Nafta superhighway is planned and will go through the United States into Canada. This is the beginning of the North American Union which will destroy our jobs and make Canada, US and Mexico one nation with appointed officials instead of elected ones. It will destroy us.

Answer 5

The problem described lies with Mexico's treatment of workers, not with NAFTA, itself.

Of course, with competition from China, Mexico - even without much worker-protection - is losing manufacturing jobs, anyway.

Answer 6

Americans don't know anything about what happens outside the USA unless their government controlled media tells them what to think