Impacts of NAFTA

After reading about the following impact of NAFTA, decide if it is more positive or negative.

It could be a cause for excessive pollution.

There had been several reports of excessive pollution in the past. One of the things that can lead to this problem is the fact that delivery trucks and factories will be more common.

• Positive

• Negative

After reading about the following impact of NAFTA, decide if it is more positive or negative.

It allowed for the establishment of trade standards.

One of the things that three countries agreed to improve was the health, safety and industrial standards to the highest existing standard. National standards no longer apply as a barrier to free trade. Additionally, agreements were made to ensure that industrialization will not increase pollution, as well as have provisions to manage labor and environmental issues.

• Positive

• Negative

After reading about the following impact of NAFTA, decide if it is more positive or negative.

It could be the reason for people to lose jobs.

Due to cheaper labor costs in Mexico, a lot of manufacturing companies moved a large part of their production from the US. This caused the displacement of around 682,900 jobs in America with California, Texas, New York and Michigan being the places that were hit the hardest.

• Positive

• Negative

After reading about the following impact of NAFTA, decide if it is more positive or negative.

It ensured protection of intellectual property rights.

In one of the stipulations in the treaty, Mexico will need to provide a very high level of protection for their people’s intellectual property rights. This will be especially helpful in fields like chemical production and computer software. Additionally, companies will think twice about stealing intellectual property from other firms.

• Positive

• Negative

After reading about the following impact of NAFTA, decide if it is more positive or negative.

It provided “national goods.”

It was one of the provisions in the treaty for all products imported from the United States, Mexico and Canada to have “national goods” status, eliminating duties on those goods. Custom duties are also to be eliminated.

• Positive

• Negative

After reading about the following impact of NAFTA, decide if it is more positive or negative.

It opened up new opportunities.

NAFTA has opened up new opportunities for small-mid-size businesses to establish a name for themselves, whether in the US or in Mexico. This means that smaller firms can finally build and maintain offices in Mexico. And with the abolishment of tariffs, it has now become less expensive for smaller entities to try their luck in the Latin-speaking nation.

• Positive

• Negative

After reading about the following impact of NAFTA, decide if it is more positive or negative.

It caused the suppression of wages in the U.S.

For companies that didn’t move to Mexico, they used the threat of moving to suppress people’s wages. They gave those who organized unions a choice between joining such organized drives or losing their jobs. Of course, workers who had nowhere else to go chose their jobs, but without union support. As a result, they had little to no bargaining power when it comes to wage increase.

• Positivity

• Negative

After reading about the following impact of NAFTA, decide if it is more positive or negative.

It lead farmers to go out of business in Mexico.

Around 1.43 million farm jobs were lost when NAFTA took effect. When the 2002 Farm Bill was passed, it subsidized (supported financially) American agribusiness by as much as 40% of net income. Then NAFTA removed the tariffs, which led Mexico to export corn and other grains that were much cheaper, and Mexican farmers were not able to compete. During this time, Mexico reduced its subsidies to farmers from 33.2% in 1990 to 13.2% in 2001.

• Positive

• Negative

After reading about the following impact of NAFTA, decide if it is more positive or negative.

It exploited maquiladora (Mexican factory) workers.

US-owned companies took in Mexican workers near the border to assemble products for export to the US at a very minimal wage. However, these workers were not given labor rights or health benefits. On top of that, they were made to work for more than 12 hours a day.

• Positive

• Negative

After reading about the following impact of NAFTA, decide if it is more positive or negative.

It paved the way for real wage increases.

According to a Washington Pose article, a study showed that after this treaty was signed, there was a significant increase in wages across the US by 0.17%, in Canada by 0.96% and 1.3% in Mexico.

• Positive

• Negative