NAFTA Pros and Cons

Kimberly, et al:
Once again I am compelled to write a comment, this time on the Free Trade articles. The rhetoric on free trade, NAFTA and all the other agreements continues to fly hot and heavy between the political parties, along with the usual playing with statistics to make various biased advocacy points.

However, to me this entire argument boils down to the question of what the end results have been to the United States in the years since these agreements were implemented. In my view, regardless of what job or income statistics are cited, the bottom line is this: are we better off overall as a nation (or world) today than we were prior to free trade, or not?

While one can argue this endlessly, to me the obvious answer is that we are not. The basic bottom line is the overall financial health of the country, and under almost any measure we are worse off. If you look at the extreme, unprecedented trade imbalances and resulting currency flow imbalances against us, there is your answer. Fiscally, free trade has driven us to the edge of bankruptcy not ever seen on a scale like this except by the losers of major wars. Will China forgive some of those debts held in the form of our Treasury Notes? I think not; instead of financial strength, we are open to the possibility of international financial blackmail or some future equivalent. I could not call this “better off”.

In addition to the financially negative position we have allowed ourselves to occupy, the world itself may only now be realizing that it is reaping the dubious benefits of rapid, uncontrolled growth of less developed countries and the consequent rampant pollution and commodities purchasing wars such as the world has never known. The inflationary effects of these events, along with food for fuel policies, have created this current global food crisis whose solution is not yet in sight. None of these consequences are remotely foreseeable without the sudden existence of these free trade agreements. Is the world itself really better off with this unchecked, uncontrolled development? I doubt it. And I doubt the peasant farmers turned factory workers are really all that happy either. The only real winners in all of this are those at the top of the food chain (read: income). Looking at the big picture, the answer to my original question is an unequivocal “no”.

Please note that the use of the phrase “free trade” in the context of NAFTA or other such trade agreements is nothing more than political rhetoric. What such agreements tend to consist of is a relaxing of some tariffs between two countries, along with preserved tariffs imposed on non-participating countries. NAFTA is protectionist in its effects and outcome, and this is a fact that tends to be clouded by the inaccurate use of “free trade” in this context.

Free trade, to me, is when tariffs are removed between the countries in an agreement. It seems you are arguing that it is protectionist against those not in the free trade agreement…point taken. Still, it is a free trade between those IN the agreement.

Hi Peter,

I don’t think you can pin the overall health of the economy on NAFTA. There are many, many other factors that have caused the budget deficit, current account deficit and a $9 trillion debt.

Furthermore, I don’t think you can tell countries like Vietnam and Brazil that rapid growth is a bad thing, when their standard of living is improving. We can’t pull up the ladder just because we got to the top.

It is so sad that no one really understands the impact that NAFTA has had on our country. Many farmers have gone bankrupt since the United States let food products come here from all these other counties. To sum it up we are consuming fruits and vegetables that are tainted with chemicals that have long been banned in the USA. But does anyone really care.Where are all the inspectors that should have been there doing there jobs? We are eating food products from other counties that are being watered with black water(sewer water). No wonder we are in such a terrible
state of economic failure. Please someone out there help our country back to its original roots before NAFTA……………………
We are actually doomed because all decisions have been made with dollar signs instead of safety for our population.

Free Trade has been inimical to Canada in many respects. It has further tied Canada’s natural resource wealth to the United States (which requires our oil, gas, food, etc., to keep prices low). What has happened in Canada, however, is that our economy has become even more resource dependent, and we have been precluded by legislation and by proxy developing a more robust tertiary economic sector (at least, sectors not tied to branch plants). It is complicated, but overall Canada is MUCH WORSE off since Free Trade has been implemented. We have seen a whiplash economy happen in British Columbia wherein the USA has shunned the tenants of free trade (i.e., softwood lumber dispute, which the WTO sided with on Canada in international courts several times, but USA still decided not to play fair), and yet has precluded Canada from finding other trading partners to fill the void. Ditto for the potato dispute in New Brunswick and the cattle dispute in Alberta, Saskatchewan and to lesser degrees Manitoba and British Columbia. All these provinces have suffered because of USA’s continued unfair trade practices under the auspices of “free trade”. You scream at high unemployment rates, but have you ever lived in a province where the norm is anywhere from 8 to 11% unemployment? If that happened — and is currently happening in the USA thanks to your elected idiots that failed to regulate your industries, financial and otherwise, you now are enjoying the fruits of the good ‘ol USA visionary business practices.

Do you know what an International Trade Account Balance really is?

The International Trade number is either Positive number or Negative number.

If it is a positive number, this means America is exporting more American Produced Goods and Services than America Imports from the rest of the world. This is very good.

If it is a negative number, this means America is importing more Produced Goods and Services from the rest of the world than America Exports. This is very bad.

In the below table America is in last place NO. 188. That is very, very Bad.

188. United States $ -568,800,000,000 2008 EST.

This trade number has decreased a little because of the latest Economical down turn. This Trade Deficit number was $ -760 billion dollars just before the latest down turn.

America Imports more goods from the rest of the world than any other country in the whole world.

America may even Import more goods than all the other countries of the world combined.

That is why all the other countries of the world keep worrying about America turning to protectionist International Trade Polices. Because the rest of the world can add and subtract and they all know that is exactly what a good politician would do if he really cared about the financial health of his country.

I was Industrial Engineer for Rockwell International for 30 years. Dealing with Production Numbers is exactly what I have done all my life.

The American Politicians are Destroying America by sending all the good paying America jobs off shore.

America will soon be a third world country.

As you can see, America has the worst International Trade Deficit than any country in the entire world.

WE are in last place.

This is why America is leading the world into a world wide DEPRESSION.

Thanks to them Damn Stupid American Globalist Politicians.

READ IT and WEEP..

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The World Fact book

Rank Order – Current World Trade Account Balance

Rank, Country, Current account balance.

Date of Information: This page was last updated on 24 February, 2009

1
China $ 368,200,000,000 2008 est.
2
Germany $ 267,100,000,000 2008 est.
3
Japan $ 187,800,000,000 2008 est.
4
Saudi Arabia $ 141,000,000,000 2008 est.
5
Russia $ 97,600,000,000 2008 est.
6
Norway $ 84,350,000,000 2008 est.
7
Kuwait $ 65,210,000,000 2008 est.
8
Venezuela $ 48,440,000,000 2008 est.
9
Netherlands $ 47,000,000,000 2008 est.
10
Libya $ 43,330,000,000 2008 est.
11
Switzerland $ 40,810,000,000 2008 est.
12
United Arab Emirates $ 36,410,000,000 2008 est.
13
Algeria $ 35,800,000,000 2008 est.
14
Sweden $ 35,220,000,000 2008 est.
15
Singapore $ 32,120,000,000 2008 est.
16
Iran $ 27,470,000,000 2008 est.
17
India $ -38,390,000,000 2008 est.
182
Australia $ -43,840,000,000 2008 est.
183
France $ -47,270,000,000 2008 est.
184
Turkey $ -51,680,000,000 2008 est.
185
Italy $ -68,820,000,000 2008 est.
186
United Kingdom $ -72,540,000,000 2008 est.
187
Spain $ -152,500,000,000 2008 est.
188
United States $ -568,800,000,000 2008 est.

Countries for which no information is available are not included in this list.

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Why is the American Politicians Sending all of the highest paying jobs off shore to China when American workers have an unemployment rate approaching 10%.

Why does the American Politicians care more about giving all the high paying jobs to the Chinese workers than they do to American Workers?

The most Important Question is why we Americans elect them back in office.

We deserve exactly what we get.

We are totally destroying our children and grand-children hopes and dreams of a better future and replacing it with a life of third world slave labor.
Thank you Father and you too Grandpa…

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Do you know what would really happen if American was to pull out of NAFTA and the WTO right now?

What would happen if America just stopped exporting everything to the rest of the world and just produced everything America now IMPORTS from the Mexico, India and China?

America would automatically Experience a net increase in newly created jobs to the tune of well over $760 Billion dollars of new jobs every year.

All these American Politicians keep telling us:

“Oh no, American can not turn to protectionist because look at all the America jobs would be lost from the world not buying American produced goods”.

That statement is the biggest lie that has been told to the America people and told so often that now Americans just automatically think it is the truth..

What Rock have all these Globalist American Politicians been living under for the last 20 years.

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“America Must Pull out of NAFTA and WTO to SURVIVE”

I worked as an Industrial Engineer for 30 years for Rockwell International.

That is exactly what I did my whole life. I worked for 30 years evaluates labor cost for Rockwell International.

So trust me, I know when someone is getting screwed when it comes to labor cost.

This has been coming on since the very minute America joined NAFTA and the WTO. America has been losing money and jobs to the whole world. Every year and it has grown to a humongous amount in the last few years.

I have always said, things will just keep getting worse then at some point America will go into a total Collapse.

If you think you have money or a good job and will not be affected. I have news for you. Everyone will feel much pain before this is completely over.

Just imagine the Federal Government not having enough money to pay the Social security pensioners or their Medical Benefits or anything else. This is exactly where America is heading, so bucket your seat belt because we are in for a very, very bumpy ride.

My older bother who serviced in the Army in Europe during World War II, He said in Germany the money was so worthless that they had to take a wheel barrel full of money to the store to purchase a loaf of bread.

America is in a cross roads either we Pull Out of NAFTA and the WTO and solve our jobs problem or America will just keep going down, down till America goes into a total collapse.

What the President and Congress are doing is total insanity. This will be the third or forth bailout by congress and he promises us there will be more bailouts to follow.

What you are seeing right now is the planned destruction of America by President Obama and all his elite globalist cabinet members in order to usher in the “ONE WORLD ORDER”. Then we can kiss all of our freedoms good-bye.

Please tell me. Is there no end in sight?

America doesn’t need another bailout. America needs all those jobs that the Politicians have been sending off shore to Mexico, India and China for the last 15 years.

The Hell with borrowing Trillions of Dollars from China.

Then the American workers can pay their house payments and feed their family and things will start to improve over night.

This is a NO BRAINIER.

Pull out of NAFTA and the WTO.

The International Trade Balances for year 2006.

You Figure it out for yourself:

If America just stopped EXPORTING anything in 2006 we would have lost $1,440 Billion Dollars in Jobs.

If America just stopped IMPORTING anything in 2006 we would have gained $2,200 Billion Dollars in Jobs.

That would be a Net Total Increase of $ 760 Billion Dollars of new Jobs created every year in America.
T
hat would be a net decease in the National Debt every year.

But, all these Politicians are all Globalist and will not give up until America is totally destroyed. This is very, very sad because all is needed is USA PULL out of NAFTA and the WTO and watch the jobs increase. In facts this will create more jobs in America than we can fill.

They would rather Spent Billions of Dollars on trying to under write their Globalist Policies and keep borrowing money from China.

You want creating NEW JOBS in AMERICA?

“STOP Obama and his Globalist buddies from SENDING AMERICAN JOBS Off Shore TO CHINA”.

The American Politicians just don’t get it yet, but the next election we’ll get them.

They can print and throw all the money at this problem they want. Things may get a little better for a while and then we will slide back again into a recess or maybe a depression. Then we will need another bailout.

This is like: do you teach someone to fish or do you keep purchasing the fish for him, with borrowed bailout money from China?

Wait one minute. How did China get so much money and America get so poor?

a. America started giving China all the high paying manufacturing jobs when America joined the WTO.

b. China uses these manufacturing jobs to produce manufactured goods.

c. America then borrows money from China to buy all of these manufactured goods produced in China.

d. Then America starts into a Depression because all the high paying JOBS was send off to China and the Politicians tell us; “What we need now is more new JOBS” so they Borrow Trillions of more Dollars more from China to pay for all those Imports from China.

e. The only thing the American Politicians have created in the last 15 years is the largest NATIONAL DEBT in History for our Children and Grand-Children will be forced to pay by flipping hamburgers at McDonalds.

American Politicians can not keep sending all of those good paying jobs off shore to China and expect the American workers to work checkout at Wal-Mart or flip hamburgers at Macdonald’s for minimum wages.

This is really starting to look like all of those American Globalist Politicians have declared War on the American People and Workers and are trying to destroy America from within to usher in their great “One World Order” in through the back door.

The America Politicians have already given our entire Manufacturing Base to China.

Do you want know the definition of a THIRD WORLD COUNTRY?

That’s a country that has lost control of the national Currency and has no Industrial Manufacturing Base. Wait a minute that’s sounds like America?

The American Politicians are going to keep screwing the America workers until they lose everything and that’s exactly where we are headed. If that happens, I would not want to be a politician in either party.

At some point the America people will get so mad, I predict they will be shooting people in the street. They may even want a put all of those American Globalist Politicians on trial for treason and seize all their family wealth for destroying our great country.

Then at some point things may get nasty in Washington, D.C.

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I was hired in Dec-1956 at Rockwell international in Newark, Ohio. I worked for seven years on the shop floor as a Machining Inspector and attended Business college half-day to get my education.

Then after I got my 4 year college degree, I was hired as an Industrial Engineer in the front office and had to go back to college to take a few more mathematical subjects.

Then I worked the rest of my thirty years as a Department head over an Industrial Engineer Department in the front office at Rockwell International at Newark, ohio.

So, when it comes to understanding how NAFTA and the WTO are screwing the American Workers I understand only to well.

Let me say one thing about all this Globalism and the ONE WORLD ORDER.

There is no way this concept of Globalize can never work for very long because they are pushing on a string.

Why do you say that?

Whenever an employer succeeds in depriving the workers who are producing any given product a fair and living wage. Just like they have been doing for the last 15 years.

Then that employer will at some point in time, will run out of people who can afford to purchase the very products being produced.

All the American Jobs have been moved to China, the American workers have been laid off, American wage scales has been push down by illegal immigrants and credit cards maxed out.

The Chinese workers are working for slave labor at $2/day.

That is exactly where we are right now in time.

Now, these International Companies have for the last15 years now of sucking money out of the American people and the American wage scale has just went down, down and down till the American people are at a point, they can no longer pay for all these products being imported from China, for house payments, for rent or to feed their own family.

So, please tell me who is left with enough money or Income to Purchase these vary same products that was moved off shore to China?

The answer is ABSOLUTELY NO ONE.

That is exactly where we are right now.

President Obama and all these other Globalist Politicians have voted for all of these humongous bailouts that will only temporarily support these Globalize policies.

Bailouts will not correct the America’s Trade Deficits and the dislocation from the lost of American Jobs to China.

So, America may get a little better for a few months and then slide right back off into another recession or depression.

But, the next time will be ever worse because America will now owe all these additional Trillions of dollars, plus the extra interest payments on the National Debt.

There can only be one solution to solve the American Jobs Problem and that is pull out of NAFTA and the WTO and America must go back to the vary same way America conducted International Trade Policies for over 216 years, before NAFTA and the WTO.

Then you will automatically see well over $760 billion dollars worth of new jobs created in America. There will be so many jobs created the American workers will not be able to fill all of them.

You ask me, how can that be?

Well, the very minute America Pulls out of NAFTA and the WTO and all those same people who moved all those jobs off shore to China will bring all those same jobs back to America Pronto.

Do you want a help? Please email my article to all your friends and tell them to pass it along. You can even post it any place you want a post it too.

This is ridiculous NAFTA is totally not cool. Someone needs to fix it NOW

Why are our newspapers and news programs on TV not reporting on NAFTA? The agreement was to end 15 years after it was signed in 1994 – THAT’S THIS YEAR!!

I’ve been studying imports and exports since about 2003 so I could understand the issues and come up with ideas on how to work within the structure of business to help American businesses. Our government has had plenty to deal with for the last year, but for the sake of the economy, Americans need to know how our government plans to proceed with the NAFTA regulations.

Please understand, that NAFTA was designed in part to help the US sell farm products we had in surplus to Mexico and to enable our manufacturer’s (who it seems had no problems sending US jobs to Mexico to avoid paying high wages to US workers). In return, there are agreements that the US will lower duties for products of Canadian or Mexican origin.

The internet explosion of the 90’s began with the development of the micro processing chip which took the idea of global communication to realms never imagined. Now, the trade agreement which was only supposed to affect the blue collar worker, has people in India (who are paid much lower wages than Americans) taking your order at the local hamburger drive thru and sending it back to the kitchen for fulfillment.

Have you asked your congressman what’ going on lately?

Hi Bev,

You raise a good point. NAFTA renegotiation was a big part of Obama’s campaign, yet it hasn’t really been addressed this year.

Part of it is, of course, the recession has taken precedence. I suspect, however, that he now realizes renegotiating NAFTA would open up a Pandora’s box at a time the economy needs all the help it can get. For example, Mexico has said it wants rights to send its trucks across the border – something that was promised in NAFTA but never delivered.

Kimberly

International Trade is a Ponzi scheme. “This is an unsustainable progression of a moving all the highest paying Jobs off shore to have $2/day Slave Labor in China produce products for Industrialized Countries of the World”.

The REAL problem is that International Globalization of Trade is a Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) Ponzi scheme.

Here is how it works:

First you move all the highest paying jobs off shore to biggest labor market in the world.

Of Course in China that means you can get your products produced by the slave labor cost of $2/day.

Now you take all of these finished products and shipped then back to America, the largest and most expensive product market in the world. That way my International Company will make the largest profit possible on every item produced.

You get the products produced by the Slave labor and then you bring back too America and sell the product for best price.

But, then like all PONZI schemes there is this big problem of at some point in time you run out of people to sell your product too.

You say.. Why do you say that?

That is exactly where we are right now in this Ponzi scheme cycle. But, it seams I am the only person in the whole world completely understands it.

All the Industrial Countries of the world elected to join the NAFTA or the WTO and they thought this was the most efficient way to produce products.

Now we the people of all of the Industrial Countries are all going to be forced into bankruptcy and lose everything we have worked for all of our lives. That includes our Job, our home if mortgaged, our Pensions and everything else.

This is going to be exactly like the Big Depression of the 1930s, except this Depression will be much, much worse.

Because during the 1930s there was no credit cards and credit was few and far between. Now, it seems everything we own has been purchased on credit of some type. So, I guess now we will loss everything we own this time.

To go back to what I have dubbed: “International Trade PONZIE SCHEME”.

I want ask you just One Question.

If all of the Industrial countries of the world moved all of the best paying jobs off shore to a SLAVE LABOR MARKET paying $2/day like they have done for the last 20 years.

All of the Workers in the Industrial countries of the world will now be laid-off with no income and can not pay their bills.

All of the workers in China the SLAVE LABOR CAPITAL of the world will be working for $2/day.

HERE IS MY QUESTION:

Please tell me: “who in the HELL will have enough money or Income to Purchase all of these SLAVE LABOR products”?

Of Course the answer is “no one will have any money”.

That is exactly where we are right now..

The sad part about this is that all of this could have been avoided. Even the $875 Billion Dollars spent to Bailout Obama’s ole CFR buddies, the International Banksters and the Wall Street Gangsters.

If American would drop out of NAFTA and the WTO right now things would automatically correct it self like it has always done for the last 216 years in America.

Hi Harry,

Obama’s campaign pledge to renegotiate NAFTA has been put on the back burner, at least until the economy is stronger.

For an update, see “Has Obama Forgotten NAFTA Promise?”

Kimberly

Unfortunately, as long as the “new” NAFTA is designed by politicians and strategies defined by politicians, they will mess up the re-negotiation as well.

Unfortunately, I have no respect for politicians who consider themselves as savvy businessmen and make business decisions. NAFTA is a business decision. NAFTA was sold under a whole different story including “will create over a million new high paying jobs locally..” for those who remember it. We are seeing more of this same rhetoric from the COngress and the president.

Neither do the politicians have the savvy nor does the plan play out the way they tell the constituents when it is in the form of a bill in Congress. And worse still, no one challenges them on the outcome – everyone complains, but does nothing.

How about the people – we – ask our government to fix one thing and prove it before we go on to the next one.

This is all a part of China’s master plan to destroy the U.S. Read the book “Unrestricted Warfare.” It lines up with all the comments that comments Harry made above.