NAFTA (SLP) Module5 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

NAFTA (SLP) Module5 - Essay Example problems created by NAFTA continue to affect some of the member states – a problem that has not been received well by critics such as Ralph and Pat. Reasons for opposing NAFTA include the loss of jobs that has affected the USA. It is estimated that since 1995, NAFTA is responsible for the loss of some 765,000 jobs. This loss of jobs has also created a ripple effect on the economic wellbeing of the laid off workers. After the loss of jobs, finding new jobs has a 23% less pay within the same industries they used to work. Additionally, investment on manufacturing industries has increased Mexican problem in that, around the maquiladora zones along the Mexico-US border, pollution and poor disposal of waste has threaten to cause adverse environmental issues (Global Exchange, 2011). In the USA, NAFTA has been viewed as a free trade agreement that has caused multiple employment and investment issues. For example, a study by the Cornell University shows that two-thirds of manufacturing and communications companies have threatened their employees that they would move their operations outside the USA. This move aims at exporting well-paying jobs from the USA to either Mexico or Canada where labor is expected to be cheaper. In this case, more employees are left jobless or underpaid as companies thrive to create value through the free trade agreement (Workorg, 2010). NAFTA is an export dependent trade agreement which affects the resources of the nations involved. For example, natural resources such as forests and fish have been overexploited to settle trade debts among member states. Mexico has been on the receiving end as 15 US-based wood products’ companies have established operations in Mexico drastically increased logging. Guerrero, a Mexican State has lost 40 percent of her forest cover following the establishment of US-based wood products’ companies. Family farmers face the adverse effects of the NAFTA free trade doctrine. It is seen that NAFTA has influenced