The high price of 'free' trade

[mebadgett]

Excerpt:

"Since the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) was signed in 1993, the rise in the U.S. trade deficit with Canada and Mexico through 2002 has caused the displacement of production that supported 879,280 U.S. jobs. Most of those lost jobs were high-wage positions in manufacturing industries. The loss of these jobs is just the most visible tip of NAFTA's impact on the U.S. economy. In fact, NAFTA has also contributed to rising income inequality, suppressed real wages for production workers, weakened workers' collective bargaining powers and ability to organize unions, and reduced fringe benefits."

The high price of 'free' trade
NAFTA's failure has cost the United States jobs across the nation

by Robert E. Scott

Entire Article: http://www.epinet.org/content.cfm/briefingpapers_bp147

[Chico Rog]

1. Mexico loses jobs to China...

I was reading this today in the Chron... The invisible hand pimp slaps both ways...



Santa Ana Chiautempan, Mexico -- The "China threat," as people around this textile town call it, struck here last week, costing 80 jobs in a factory that makes blankets.

"Maybe next time, I'll be the one who gets fired; China is going to make Mexico go broke," said Bernarda Parada, 27, as she hemmed blankets that sell for $10, while similar ones made in China sell here for $6.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2003/12/04/MNGFH3FRM91.DTL