ECO301 - Week 3 - CheckPoint - North American Free Trade Agreement

Week 3: CheckPoint - North American Free Trade Agreement - Reaction

Grade: 15/15
I can't release my peer's paper because I do not have their permission to post it. I did have the advantage of just being able to restate my position in response to their points! ;-) This was also submitted as an attachment with formal APA formatting.

Deichmille presents an interesting case for the NAFTA and its related benefits. Unfortunately, these propositions have been proved false in the real world implementation. In actuality NAFTA has been damaging to both the economies and foreign relations of member countries.

Deichmille's (2005) first and second argument is that is it good for the economy and for the standard of living of all three countries. Unfortunately, since NAFTA's introduction there has been a 20% reduction of salaries in Mexico (North American Free Trade Agreement, n.d., Controversy section). This is certainly far from an increase in the standard of living within Mexico. The salary reduction within Mexico has resulted in an increased problem of illegal immigration (North American Free Trade Agreement, n.d., Controversy section). The illegal immigration is an additional burden on the United States economy. Overall, NAFTA has damaged the economies, and the standard of living, of both the United States and Mexico.

Deichmille's (2005) third argument centers around NAFTA fostering international relations. Unfortunately, the subsidies that the United States provides to its farmers has only served to exacerbated tensions with Mexico (North American Free Trade Agreement, n.d., Controversy section). Fundamentally, this is heavily limited free trade and thus there are still trading obstacles to the NAFTA members.

Due to NAFTA being far from full free trade it has exacerbated existing problems for the member nations. In particular the economy of Mexico, in response to NAFTA, has been damaged; and in turn has damaged the United States economy. These economic problems have also resulted in tensions between the member nations. Until these problems are resolved NAFTA will continue to be a negative construct for the United States, and the member nations.

References

Deichmiller, E. (2005, September 23). North American Free Trade Agreement. Phoenix, AZ: Western International University.

North American Free Trade Agreement (n.d.). Retrieved on September 21, 2005, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_American_Free_Trade_Agreement