NAFTA

Paper Summary:

This paper explains that, a decade after the enactment of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) creating a borderless economy, Mexico has benefited from free trade but problems remain if it is to compete effectively with the rest of the world. The author points out that, the unemployment rate is close to zero in northern Mexico where manufacturing still is concentrated; however, manufacturing facilities are spreading out to other parts of the country. The paper stresses that, in spite of the vast improvements in the last ten years, Mexico still has some serious challenges ahead such as (1) the need to create one million new jobs each year in order to absorb the young workers entering the market and (2) smaller companies have trouble upgrading technology because of higher borrowing costs.

From the Paper:

"Mexico has come a long way from the catastrophic financial crisis of 1994-1995, when millions of Mexicans were thrust into poverty and life savings were wiped out. Two million jobs were eliminated. The early days of NAFTA had failed to benefit Mexico as expected, and most of the manufacturing exports still came from the maquiladora sector along the northern border with the U.S. A corrupt and unstable political environment limited foreign investment. In January 1995, President Clinton was motivated to provide a $47 billion bailout of the Mexican economy."

More papers on NAFTA:

• Analytical Essay # 129850 : "The Effect of NAFTA on US Jobs"
• Research Paper # 89982 : "Effects of NAFTA on Mexico"
• Essay # 83641 : "The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA)"
• Essay # 88191 : "NAFTA"

APA Citation:

MLA Citation: