The Pros And Cons Of NAFTA

NAFTA, which is also known as The North American Free Trade Agreement, is an agreement between the United States, Canada and Mexico that removed many tariffs on the imports and exports of agricultural goods between these three countries. The majority of the tariff barriers and cross-border investments among the United States, Canada and Mexico were eliminated gradually over a period of fifteen years. The objective of NAFTA was to boost employment and capital amongst these nations, but since it was enforced in 1994 it has brought much debate on the effect it has had on the economy and what it will bring in the future. NAFTA has not only failed to have increase the employment rate and higher wages that were promised, but it also has had negative
The main states to have been hit the hardest were California, Texas, New York, and Michigan. In Mexico, manufacturing incomes dropped twenty-one percent from 1995 to 1999 and have only started to improve. The Mexicans living in poverty has also grown since NAFTA. Maquiladora workers were exploited and had "no labor rights or health protections, workdays stretch out 12 hours or more, and if you are a woman, you could be forced to take a pregnancy test when applying for a job," according to Continental Social Alliance. When NAFTA took effect around 1.43 million farmers lost their jobs. As the tariffs were removed, Mexico exported corn and other grains at a much cheaper cost, and Mexican farmers were not able to compete. In Canada, since more foreign products are imported and being sold than domestic products many companies and jobs have been
The environmental damage along the border of the United States and Mexico is extensive and is the result of maquiladoras in Mexico. Plants spew pollutants into the air and the Rio Grande has become a dumping ground for chemicals and other streams. Knowing it is cheaper to pay a bribe than to abide by the law, the companies do such things deliberately without fear of fines. Not only is the pollution harmful and an issue to the environment but also to the people around. Since the Rio Grande has been polluted with sewage and other pollutants the water is undrinkable. This is a problem for many who live in this deserted region because it is their only source of water. Health problems have been appearing among the citizens, such as higher cancer rates and other diseases, which are a direct result of maquiladoras and the means of transporting exports and imports across the three nations. Also since NAFTA, logging has increased dramatically in Mexico, because fifteen US wood product companies have set up factories in there. In the Mexican state of Guerrero, forty percent of the forests have been lost in the last eight years, and the clearing of the forests has led to soil erosion and destruction of habitats which lead to the decrease in