Abstract This paper examines how the free trade agreements in America affect the labor unions, and the small farmers; mostly middle class to lower class persons. It explains that the people who stand to gain the most are those with high positions in corporations, who, thanks to Free trade agreements, can wipe out small competition, and are able to make their own shipping agreements for less money with farmers and manufacturers in less industrialized countries. The paper discusses how the new agreements, which make tariffs on the imported goods low to keep them cost effective, will ultimately crush the small farmer between the giant agribusinesses and the new Central American imports. The paper also looks at instances where labor unions and farmers protested in the hopes of gaining political support, but their attempts to influence policy have been largely ineffective.
From the Paper "Free trade agreements have become more common in the U.S. during the last half century, leading to disputes on whether or not those agreements are actually beneficial to our country. Free trade allows countries to trade unique products that cannot be produced in or found in their own countries. Free trade also allows them to be sold at reasonable prices to the consumers. The disadvantages of free trade are that there are also many products that can be produced in multiple countries. Some countries can produce these products cheaper. This can cause huge economic issues/problems for the people who were originally making this product."
Abstract The paper demonstrates the positive side to America's trade imbalance by showing how the trade deficit has not impeded America's growth, and has provided significant advantages for consumers, domestic companies and the American worker. The paper clarifies the effect the deficit has had on American manufacturing jobs, and reveals that, although there may be a loss of jobs, the American economy has anyway become better educated and increasingly employed in service-based businesses.
Outline:
Roots and Overview
Benefits to Consumers
Overstated Effect on American Jobs
From the Paper "The current U.S. trade deficit stands at approximately $763.3 billion a year, and has grown considerably over the past decade, from a starting point of $108.3 billion in 1997 (Weisman, 2007). During that 10-year period, the trade deficit only failed to increase once --from 2000-2001. While America maintains a trade surplus with some nations, particularly many developing countries, its trade with other nations is so skewed that it has caused alarm among some policymakers and in the media. For example, from 1997-2007, America's trade deficit with China increased from $49.7 billion to $260 billion -- more than a five-fold increase (U.S. Census Bureau, 2007)."
Abstract This paper addresses the question of whether free trade with countries with low wages harms American workers. It offers different perspectives, as well as an economic perspective relating to comparative and absolute advantage.
From the Paper "The globalization of manufacturing has led to a massive re distribution of work around the world. One question being asked repeatedly is this: Does international trade with low-wage countries such as China and India steal American jobs and cost American workers higher wages and a higher standard of living? Most economists think international trade is not guilty of forcing wages down, citing concepts such as comparative and absolute advantage and differences in productivity to explain why trade..."
Tags: International trade, free trade, low wages, comparative advantage, absolute advantage, job loss, displacement, government intervention, protectionism, outline.
Abstract This paper demonstrates that in order to improve free trade agreements and ensure that they include adequate protection for worker's rights, food security and environmental regulation, the FTAA must be based on a new model, rather than on the failed model of NAFTA. It shows that unless this is done, the only people to benefit from these agreements will be the rich and powerful; and that the workers and traders of the poorer countries will continue to be exploited.
From the Paper "Free trade policies such as North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) are widening the gap between the rich and poor in a number of ways. This is particularly true in Mexico; a country that has always been concerned with the protection issues associated with major trading countries in the world, tight controls, high tariffs and other restrictive policies. These restrictions have been revoked however in response to the demands to promote export-oriented production, eliminate obstacles to imports, and loosen corporate controls over national domains and enterprises. The result has been a blatantly inequitable distribution of wealth and power both within Mexico and between Mexico and other countries. The track record of NAFTA has raised concerns that this inequity will only be augmented by any such agreement."
Abstract The paper examines the potential impact of a Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) agreement with Brazil by looking more closely at the impact of NAFTA upon Mexico. In particular, the paper looks at worker conditions in Mexico, the heavy reliance of Mexico upon maquiladoras and the US economy, the disruptive impact of free trade upon many of Mexico's prime industries (chiefly agriculture) and the implications of free trade for the long-term viability of Mexico's present education system. The paper also explores what the free trade environment has meant for Mexico's fragile ecology.
From the Paper "To start with, it need hardly be said that many first-world countries (of which there is none richer than the United States) trumpet the economic benefits to be derived from open trade between nations. At the same time, opponents of free trade in the developing world decry proposals such as the FTAA as being socially negative and as a means by which first-world, Western nations can consolidate an asymmetric power relationship between themselves and poorer countries. Naturally enough, such opponents also fear the mass-exploitation of natural resources and the implementation of regulatory "red tape" which will constrain internal growth and hobble the ability of languishing nations to join the first rank of economic powers. As one might expect, Mexico is a nation which often springs to mind whenever one contemplates the prospective economic impact of an FTAA arrangement upon Brazil insofar as both nations are relatively resource rich, possess abundant labor pools coveted by foreign multinationals, and have considerable (albeit predominantly latent) intellectual capital which can serve as a boon to themselves and to the outside world if channeled properly. However, the North American Free Trade Agreement has not been kind to Mexico despite its many promising opportunities."
Abstract This paper examines the state of unions in 21st-century America and beyond. It explains how, as businesses are undergoing globalization, unions too now reach across national borders allowing workers across the world to unite with each other. It looks at how trade unions have evolved over the past century and what different characteristics they possess in the globalization era.
From the Paper "Indeed, the globalization of companies has been one of the spurs to recent unionization efforts, for the conditions that workers face in transnational corporations are often grim indeed. The lack of respect for the individual worker (whether skilled or not) by companies that are always scanning the horizon for the cheapest, most compliant labor pool possible has at least in some cases backfired, creating workers who are in fact willing to stand up for their rights. And the ease of communication across national borders that provides the economic basis for so much transnationalism also makes it easier for unions and workers to unite behind common interests across national lines. We think of North Americans as being bound together by NAFTA, a trade agreement that to some extent benefits the national governments of Canada, the United States and Mexico while mostly benefiting corporations in these countries. But the nations of North America are also bound together by FAT ? the "Authentic Labor Front". Both NAFTA and FAT acknowledge that entire regions of the world, and even the entire world itself, are now bound together economically. And economic ties exist between workers just as much as they do between companies."
Abstract This paper explores Maree Keating's text, 'Gender, Development and Trade', and outlines how the articles therein provide a worthwhile overview of the important challenges facing women workers in developing countries. In particular, the paper examines whether or not the collected writings adequately address three fundamental questions.
From the Paper "There can be little doubt that globalization has changed the world in fundamental ways. For one thing, it has opened up new vistas for trade and new opportunities for capitalists. At the same time, critics charge that globalization has widened the divide between rich and poor, white and black and male and female."
Abstract This paper takes a look at the 'good news and bad news' regarding international trade and investment. The paper discusses how in today's increasingly international, interdependent world, sustaining an open trade environment for foreign investment is reported to be in the best interest of the United States, as well as other countries.
Table of Contents:
I. Introduction
Good News/Bad
II. The "Win-Win" Practice
III. Shrouds of Controversy over Foreign Investments
III. Competitive Pressure Contributes to Outsourcing
IV. Now for the Down & Up Sides
IV. Conclusion
From the Paper "The need for quality in products is usually a point for agreement; opinions vary, however, regarding the outsourcing of U.S. jobs to other countries. In one sense, the practice is considered to be a positive component in economic movement that contributes to new beginnings and better life to numerous individuals in developing countries. Be that as it may, it is noted that in industrialized nations, many employees loose their jobs and that replacement jobs are not readily available. Barrea (2004) states, "It makes sense for the U.S. to use its scarce natural and human resources to manufacture airplanes, high-end computer chips and advanced software -- products that command better prices than do less complex things like shoes or textiles." Barrea questions the wisdom of manufacturing products that can be purchased from other countries at lower costs and suggests it would prove more beneficial for each country to specialize in their field of expertise and/or what they are able to produce most economically. "
Abstract This paper examines how fair trade chocolate is supposed to give growers and workers of the cocoa bean a better wage than that paid by the international cartels of chocolate buyers. It also explains how fair trade chocolate could help alleviate the the problem of the millions of hungry and starving poor that exist in the world in spite of the abundance of food. Additionally, the paper presents a history of fair trade chocolate and how it contributes to the concept of sustainability.
From the Paper "It is likely that more people are familiar with the term Fair Trade Coffee, simply because major coffee house chains have begun promoting their organic fair-trade brews. When most people think of chocolate, it is more likely to be a foil-wrapped mass-market candy bar, perhaps a Kit Kat, that is wolfed down to quiet hunger pangs without a thought to the plight of the people who produced the chocolate. As there are no trendy, global chain 'chocolate houses,' there is no monolithic commercial avenue through which to either purvey fair trade chocolate, or make its advantages known."
Abstract The paper explains the benefits of a human development approach to trade policy, but also notes that unrestricted trade can have significant negative components for workers in both developed and especially developing countries. The paper discusses how a gender analysis can be incorporated into a broader human development approach. The paper explains that an awareness of the role of gender in the process of developing trade policies is not simply a matter of equity or justice, but also of critical importance to economic development.
From the Paper "A human development to economic growth and trade policy is a relatively new economic model that is the endpoint of a long tradition of human-centred economics. This approach centers people and people's needs at the core of the economic processes; as their subject and not their object. While this understanding of economics is relatively new in many respects - with the first United Nations Human Development Report being published in 1990 - the basic features of this approach have been concerns of preeminent economic thinkers such as Smith, Mill, Marx and Malthus for generations (UNDP 2003, 22-23)."
This paper explains what the trade deficit is, what causes it and how and why it is growing at the rate that it is. It discusses whether or not the trade deficit presents any kind of problem or risk to our economy as well as some possible solutions.
Abstract Hearing media reports of America's trade deficit most people are led to believe that it represents a drain on our economy and is caused by unfair trade practices of other nations. This paper explains why these notions are not entirely true. Both the upside and the downside of the trade deficit are discussed. It explains why foreign investments are the driving force behind the trade deficit, why protectionist policies are not effective in reducing it, and why it is part of a growing economy. It examines the potential risk inherent in an ongoing trade deficit and discusses what our government could do to bring it under control.
From the Paper "The United States' trade deficit, also known as the current account deficit, is a measure of the balance of the flow of goods, services, and investments between the United States and the rest of the world. In other words it is the difference between how much we are selling to the rest of the world and how much we are buying from the rest of the world. A country that is selling more than it is buying is said to have a trade surplus. A country that is buying more than it is selling is said to have a trade deficit. The United States has been running a trade deficit for many years and in recent years it has been rising rapidly."
Abstract This paper analyzes the basic principle behind free trade between countries. It discusses the purpose of free trade and the aims that it hopes to achieve. The paper then provides an economic analysis using the law of demand and supply in order to explain the rationale behind free trade. In addition, the paper discusses the concept of protectionism and relates it to free trade and growth.
Table of Contents:
Free Trade Protectionism
Free Trade, Protectionism and Growth
From the Paper "A deeper understanding of the rationale behind free trade can be obtained through an economic analysis using the law of demand and supply. The following graph illustrates a simple case of tariff being imposed on some imported good, and its effects on consumers, producers, and the government. It can be seen in the graph that prior to the tariff imposition, the price of the good is Pworld. After the tariff is imposed, the price rises to Ptariff. As a result, the domestic production increases from QS1 to QS2, and at the same time the domestic consumption decreases from QC1 to QC2. The effects of this tariff are as follows. The producers are better off, and the producer surplus increases (yellow portion of graph), the government is also better off as it gains additional tax revenue as a result of the tax imposition (the blue portion of the graph), but the consumers are significantly worse off and the consumer surplus decreases (the green portion of the graph); So much so that the loss of the consumer more than offsets the gains of the producers and the government. Therefore, it has been aptly demonstrated that free trade would result in a benefit to the society. Imposition of trade restrictions causes a net loss to society because the losses from trade restrictions are larger than the gains from trade restrictions."
Abstract The writer defines the two terms according to the paper "Protectionist Trade Policies: A Survey of Theory, Evidence and Rationale" by Coughlin, Crystal and Wood. The paper notes that the liberal theory was made popular by the works of Adam Smith, and the concept of protectionism is at the root of the recent trading blocks such as NAFTA, EU, ASEAN and SEATO. The paper attempts to discover which theory is most successful in the real world.
From the Paper "Ricardo's theory was that each nation has good points and bad points in its economy. In the classic example of two countries, Ricardo sets up a model where Germany and France only have two products ? beer and cheese. The resources in each country are finite, implying that each can produce only a limited amount of goods. Increasing production of one good means reducing production of the other. Each country can produce either good, but Germany is more efficient brewing beer than France and France is more efficient at making cheese than Germany (Coughlin, Crystal & Wood, 304)."
Abstract This paper discusses how history has traditionally taught students that the Atlantic slave trade was about the capture and torture of African people by Europeans and Americans over a 400-year period. The involvement of the African people in the sale of their own citizens to slave traders has only been explored in the last few decades. The paper further discusses how this is perhaps due to the fact that the realization that a nation would sell its own people in exchange for goods is almost unfathomable; yet, it is a realistic fact of the Atlantic slave trade. The reasons behind Africa's involvement in this manner include economics, fear and a struggle for power. Although some historians contend that these reasons expressed monumental concerns of the rulers of Africa, it is also apparent that not all rulers of the regions believed that selling their citizens was a just course for the nation.
Abstract This paper examines how China has been changing economically while trying to hold on to as much of the Communist system as possible, a delicate balancing act that raises the suspicions of much of the world while also creating a good deal of internal uncertainty. The paper points out that this is part of a modernization effort being carried forth not only by those within China or by her trading partners, but also by Chinese living abroad who wish to increase business for the home country or to develop China in a wide variety of fields, including the scientific, financial, artistic, tourism, and other fields. The paper maintains that part of this effort involves China joining the World Trade Organization (WTO). Both the possibility of China joining and the organization itself were the subjects of massive protests in this era of increasing globalization and remain so. The paper concludes that China's attempt to gain benefits while retaining autonomy in certain matters is a balancing act that cannot be maintained for long without political change.
Outline:
Introduction
The WTO
China and the WTO
Theoretical Implications
Conclusion
From the Paper "The Chinese take the view that America is only harboring ill feelings about the emergence of a stronger and more prosperous China, and they believe that Washington's policy toward Taiwan is designed to obstruct China's reunification. They say that the Americans want to stop Chinese arms sales that are merely for commercial purposes while at the same time they are selling more sophisticated fighters and missiles to the unyielding Taiwanese. They also believe that the Americans use the human rights issue as a weapon to interfere in China's domestic affairs and undermine the Chinese government and note that the U.S. government created obstacles to China's entry into the WTO with the intention to weaken China economically, which has an effect domestically and internationally at the same time: "As the Chinese are sustaining their economic growth and rapidly improving their standard of living, their national pride is certain to arise" (Jisi 45)."
