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Endorsing NAFTA
By Pejman Yousefzadeh Posted in Economy | Fighting Protectionism | Free Trade | NAFTA — Comments (4) / Email this page » / Leave a comment »
This editorial deserves widespread attention--especially given the neo-protectionism that is currently afflicting the discussion of trade policy:
For the past few months, we Canadians have had our ears pressed to the border, listening with great interest as our American friends discuss the North American Free Trade Agreement.
As a partner in the agreement, we have a tremendous stake in how this conversation plays out, of course. But we also have a unique perspective on the agreement. For us, Nafta works. That is because Nafta allows trade to flow more naturally and fluidly across our shared border and has helped turn the Great Lakes region into one of the largest concentrations of economic might in the industrialised world.
The numbers are significant. The eight Great Lakes states plus Ontario account for 30 per cent of North America's employment and output and a healthy 36 per cent of its manufacturing employment. Every day, about $900m worth of goods travels between Ontario and our Great Lakes partners. At the Detroit-Windsor gateway alone - the busiest in the world - $122.8bn worth of goods, 6.5m trucks and 6m cars cross each year. This has helped create an integrated Great Lakes economy where products are made - not on the Canadian side, or the American side, but together as a region.
For example, a part produced in Ohio could find its way into a car assembled in Ontario, which in turn could be shipped to Europe. Resources produced in Ontario can be sold in the US, turned into products and sold again in the Canadian market.
Canada is the largest trading partner for 36 of 50 US states. Pennsylvania exports more to Canada than its next seven markets combined. Cross-border trade supports 221,500 jobs in Michigan alone. The regional trade relationship is complex, dynamic and, ultimately, good for our shared economy.
A 2004 study in the American Economic Review concluded that, while there was short-term job loss in manufacturing in the early days of Nafta, the lost employment was offset by employment gains in other parts of manufacturing. Overall, wages increased, as did productivity. In fact, labour productivity in manufacturing increased by a remarkable 0.93 per cent annually. Overall, Canada and the US increased their trade with each other, forming a more cohesive North American market.
There is a lot more at the link and all of it is worth reading.
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Endorsing NAFTA 4 Comments (0 topical, 4 editorial, 0 hidden) Post a comment »
Without NAFTA, trade goes to $-0-? Really?
by LittleL1954
To read between the lines, these so called free trade deals(and I do mean "so called"), if NAFTA is revised to put some (any) America First language in it, Canadian trade would go from $900 Million a day to ZERO. That my fellow Americans IS Fear Mongering.
It is no wonder the rest of the world does not want any changes to existing Trade Deals with America. They have a huge advantage over us in them and do not want them changed.
First of all there is no such thing as FREE Trade, there is, and should be, Open Trade, Restrictive Trade and Closed Trade. Most of the "Free Trade" arrangements we have today really contain two of thoses Trade types in them. Most of todays Free Trade Deals have, Open Trade for Imports to America and Restrictive and/or Closed Trade for American Exports. That is the Problem. These deals have nothing to do with "FAIR TRADE" for both sides.
I fully support Fair Trade arangements, but the state of most of our current Trade Arrangements fall way short of Fair. Madison and Adams both thought it was FAIR for countries exporting to America should help pay for the cost of our Government Operation. That means Taxes (Tariffs) on imported goods. Somehow Tariff now means neo-protectionism. Yet we accept Tariffs on exported goods from America, as set forth by "Free Trade" deals but none on imports to America.
Call me Noe-Protectionist if you wish, but when a country charges American Companies a Tax (of up to 100% in several cases) on goods exported to them, but expects America to have NO Tax on their Imports to us, That is not Free Trade, it is Insane Trade dealings.
"Call me Noe-Protectionist if you wish . . ."
by Pejman Yousefzadeh
Well, I won't do that. But I'll certainly call you a neo-protectionist.
A few more points: (1) Yes, there is such a thing as free trade. (2) It is just as important for America to bring in imports as it is to export; imports give American consumers more choice. (3) The export market is thriving for American companies because of the weakness of the dollar. Indeed, the export market under the current free trade regime is one of the few bright spots in the economy. If we were without it, we would be deep in a recession right now. Things are bad enough with the economy currently. Neo-protectionists would have them worse. (4) Tariffs are not part and parcel of free trade and there is no reason whatsoever to tax imports to pay costs of governmental operations. To the extent that the Founding Fathers did that, they were not free traders. Arguing that tariffs are a free trade mechanism is like arguing that cavities are a symptom of excellent dental health. The very thought is nothing short of ridiculous. (5) Read this. Good conservatives in the Reaganite tradition know that free trade is and has been good for America, fatuous nonsense about other countries having a "huge advantage" over us notwithstanding. (6) Supporting "fair trade" is a nice way of saying that one is a protectionist and a mercantilist. I would prefer that protectionists and mercantilists would simply say that they are protectionists and mercantilists. At least in those circumstances, they would be honest about things.
"At times one remains faithful to a cause only because its opponents do not cease to be insipid." --Friedrich Nietzsche
Anybody recall how NAFTA came about? My recollection is that the GOP pushed it, but the Dems were wary. Clinton decided he was for it, and used Gore to push it. Gore destroyed Ross Perot on TV and compared NAFTA's significance to that of the Louisiana Purchase. Until then, it looked like NAFTA might be DOA. So for the co-president who rammed NAFTA through the Dems to act like it's a bad thing is laughable.
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It's truly embarrassing that this weak-ass protectionism has enough of a foothold that we're getting lectured on the benefits of free trade from CANADA. But the fact is, we need the medicine. And kudos to Canada for giving it to us on this.
We need every free or semi-free nation out there to just kick our ass in the markets a while on tax rates and easing of trade restrictions until our legacy megalithic-mega-slow-labor groups are just flat out of business, Detroit-style.
The fact is, being born here doesn't make us superior. It is our free system that allows greatness to fluorish-- and anywhere can replicate that, or be even more free. I'm kind of looking forward to us actually having to catch back up, we could use some economic freedom back.