NAFTA And Globalization Essays - Economy, Business,

NAFTA And Globalization Globalization over the past twenty has become an issue in many countries. This industrialization of second and third world countries by Western Civilization creates many opportunities for the inhabitants. Not only does it expand trading markets, but also promotes productivity and efficiency; thus improving the country and integrating it into the industrial world. This process not only benefits third world counties, but also industrialized nations by allowing them to export goods to the developing world and increase their profit margin. East Asia and Latin America seem to benefit most from this. The East Asian economy has developed the fastest with an annual growth of nearly 8 percent (Stand 43 4). This has been achieved through maintaining economic stability and production output. However, western influence in some ways has harmed the culture within these countries, many of them now talk of returning to their roots through Asianization or Islaminization. Many of these people feel that western influence has stripped away values and hindered their cultural growth. With the rise of international industries such as McDonalds, Wal-Mart and K-mart western culture has invaded the world in an attempt to "modernize" these countries that could very well do with out. CEO's may think that they are helping by providing jobs and easy access to goods, but with this help there is also the price of destroying values and exploiting workers. They attempt to Americanize these people and enforce our values upon them. With the rise of industrialization, the question of free trade has arisen. Free trade is the elimination of taxes, tariffs and quotas over international borders. The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), consisting of Mexico, the USA and Canada, creates the largest free-trading zone in the world (Stand 51 1). Does NAFTA help or harm an economy is one of the most poignant questions? The Mexican economy seems to benefit from NAFTA through increased trade of Mexican made products and the availability of more jobs to the Mexican people; however, along with benefits comes a downside. Many American companies have taken advantage of NAFTA and moved production plants to Mexican because there they can exploit the workers. Many companies pay less than 1 dollar an hour in unsafe and unsanitary conditions. While these American companies benefit from NAFTA, the American workers suffer. As a result of large companies moving production plants to Mexico, thousands of American laborers are laid off, often with no benefits or compensation. Many American companies deny the moving plants to Mexico in an effort to evade the Labor Department. One city that has suffered the most is El Paso, Texas. The majority of its workers are willing to accept minimum wage, the average unemployment rate is 11.7 percent and has lost more than 5,600 jobs to Mexico (Stand 57 8). An example of this is Johnson & and Johnson, who laid-off 110 workers and moved to Mexico. The company claimed that they did this because all their competitors had left because of NAFTA (Stand 58 7). To conclude, while NAFTA helps the Mexican economy and American businesses, it harms workers in both America and Mexico; whether, it is through job loss or exploitation. While I don't believe that America needs to become a protectionist nation-sate, I do believe by allowing this to happen we are harming our citizens. I do believe we should help developing countries has long as it doesn't interfere with the lives and jobs of the American people; unfortunately, NAFTA does interfere and I believe should be disbanded. Bibliography STAND: Contending Ideas and Opinions. World Politics, edited by Marc Genest, copyright 1999, Coursewise Publishing, Inc. Boulder CO. Works Cited STAND: Contending Ideas and Opinions. World Politics, edited by Marc Genest, copyright 1999, Coursewise Publishing, Inc. Boulder CO.