Nafta

"The North America Free Trade Agreement"

The North America Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) is a pact that calls for the gradual removal of tariffs and other trade barriers on most goods produced and sold in the United States. NAFTA forms the world's second largest free trade agreement, the first been the European Union. This controversial treaty between the United States, Canada, and Mexico passed during President Clinton's first term in 1994, and it will last14 years.

Hence, in this research paper we will look at issues that have risen from this treaty. We will look at the effects of NAFTA on U.S. workers first by examining the position of two articles with very different political opinions. Then we look at the question of immigration, how has NAFTA encouraged the movement of labor across the U.S., and Mexico border, and how has that movement affected the America labor market.

It said change is always hard but how hard does it has to be. For many scholars this question is very debatable. We will start with a look at how employment is affected by NAFTA on U.S., and then we will look at the so-called benefits of employment NAFTA is proving. Once again history repeats it self, now we are facing with "labor versus globalization" (Ross) labor movements are organization that fight for the welfare of workers. However, the labor movement is becoming a thing of the past because of NAFTA. The reason is now companies do not longer feel threat because now they the full support of both the political and legal sectors. Nowadays the situation has change when it comes to labor movements because now this companies can" threaten to relocate an expand labor markets"(Ross). Therefore making it harder for workers to fight for their rights. NAFTA has made it easier for manufactures companies to relocate to countries that have fewer labor laws and where they do not have to pay high wages in other words cheap labor.

The impact or this action had left many unskilled workers with out jobs and the labor movement is unable to do much, leaving hundredth of workers and families with out any safety net. NAFTA has major role with the lack of benefits that employers used to offer to employees such as pensions, medical benefits. . Therefore, "globalization should thus be seen from a labor's point of view as a dramatic new manifestation of a chronic problem" (Ross). Unions and workers now have to lower their demand and standards because of the fear of unemployment. Hence, taking labor to the back seat of this global movement.

In the other hand, the article of Alan L. Median, suggest that with out NAFTA, the labor would had suffer more and have bilker outcome. It is reasonable to say that NAFTA will fact increase the move of many companies to lower wages countries such as Mexico but " this will benefit the U.S. economy and U.S. labor. A NAFTA will encourage production of technologically intensive goods with economies of scale in United States, and their export to Mexico." The labor in the U.S. and the jobs that are held by skill workers has increase somewhat during the years due to technology manufactories. Some of the other factors that NAFTA is beneficial for the U.S. is that unskilled worker percentage has decreased which this helps the workers to get more educated to get better jobs.

Most of the low wages jobs and less skilled labor is moving from the U.S. "Organized labor as a whole does not appear to lose from a NAFTA, U.S. workers can expect employment and welfare gains" because if the country has a strong economy then we the rate and capacity to employ workers and for labors to still exist. However, these are all speculations and NAFTA still a debatable issue about whether is success or failed.

One of NAFTA purpose was to help Mexico without affecting the work force in the U.S. However, a Professor from Cornell University has documented

" How the U.S. employers increasingly threaten to move their factories to Mexico and other low-wages countries in order to fight unions and restrain wages".

(Cavanagh). Therefore many workers feel fear to say anything and this has increased worker violations complains. Hence, the impact of wages in the U.S. have not increase over past few years that NAFTA has been in effect.

Pollution has also become a concern for both the U.S. and Mexico. Under the protection of NAFTA many companies are not formally responsible for Hazards material that their factories produced. This is because governments attempt to enforce environmental issues "they face the threat of expensive lawsuits, thanks to NAFTA rules allowing foreign investors to sue governments directly over any act."(Cavanagh). One example is the lawsuit of a California company to Mexico government for not allowing them to build in a certain location where their hazards material could harm the environment. The Mexican government was other to pay 17 million dollars to this company. Hence, there are reports similar cases in all three countries that are under the NAFTA treaty.

Other more serous issue is that the standards of living in Mexico instead, of improving as NAFTA promised, it had the opposite effect. In a census by he World Bank data, " Mexican living in poverty rose from 51 percent in NAFTA's first year to more than 58 percent four years later" (Cavanagh). Mexicans poverty rate has increased the rate of illegal immigration, especially the people that live in rural areas. The impact on Mexican "small farmers is reflected in the rising rural poverty, which climbed from 79 percent in 1994 to 82 percent in 1998" (Cavanagh).

NAFTA and the peso devaluation are partially linked to the rise of illegal immigration to the U.S., especially from Mexicans