Essay on North American Free Trade Agreement (Nafta)

Words: 2356
Pages: 10

North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA)
I. Brief overview of NAFTA (mainly for in-class presentation)
a. NAFTA Introduction
b. Original Expectations

II. NAFTA over the last 12 years
a. Impact on the U.S. economy
i. Jobs (Employment Growth) ii. Labor iii. Income iv. Imports vs. Exports (Trade Deficit)
1. Agriculture
v. Economic growth

b. Impact on Canadian economy
c. Impact on Mexican economy
d. Global Impact
i. International Business ii. FDI (Foreign Direct Investment)

III. NAFTA - The Good, the bad and the ugly
a. Successes
b. Short Comings
i. Lessons Learned
c. Broken Promises
IV. NAFTA’s role going forward
a. What needs to be fixed?
i. Current Issues and Challenges
b. How do you fix it?
i.
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“Furthermore, NAFTA was accompanied by dramatic reduction of the influence of trade unions in Mexico's urban areas. NAFTA has been accompanied by a dramatic increase of illegal immigration from Mexico to the United States; presumably, a significant fraction of these people are farmers forced off their land by bankruptcy. Opposition to NAFTA also comes from environmental, social justice, and other advocacy organizations that believe NAFTA has detrimental non-economic impacts to public health, the environment, etc” (Wikipedia).
Yet, there are those that argue that NAFTA has done much to help the citizens of all three countries. The standard of living in Mexico, and to some extent in Canada, has also gone up as compared to the United States. Many economists and socialists argue that NAFTA has done nothing but to help integrate the three economies and has given the people a better chance. They argue that “Canada and Mexico have reaped gains from free trade with the largest economy in the world, while the United States has benefited from unhindered access to their markets and products as well” (Wikipedia). A fact, that NAFTA still continues to pay its dividends, is a constant reminder to the controversialists and those who oppose it that NAFTA is a success and is helping all three countries make their profits (Griswold 2004).

IV. NAFTA’s Role Forward: One of the things that