FREE ESSAY ON NAFTA AND GLOBALIZATION

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.
Works Cited
STAND: Contending Ideas and Opinions. World Politics, edited by Marc Genest, copyright
1999, Coursewise Publishing, Inc. Boulder CO.
Bibliography
Works Cited
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.