Thesis: NAFTA
is the first initiative of applying the economic
policies born out of globalization, which is related
to trade liberalization and free trade. Though
these polices tremendously strengthened the economic
growth and increased foreign trade among the member
countries but resulted into immense environmental
degradation, which has now become a debatable
issue instigated by the various political and
environmental groups of these countries.
Introduction
Ever since the introduction of globalization,
the various policies and trends of international
relations have changed tremendously. Globalization
gave a new direction to conduct relations among
the nation-states. Therefore, states are now directly
and indirectly connected to each other in one
way or another. However, the various policies
of free trade, trade liberalization, privatization
and the information technology revolution have
increased the activity and communication among
states with similar interest. At the same time
the previous concepts of power and traditional
trends to conduct foreign as well as domestic
relations have changed. Now states are collaborating
to each other for similar goals leaving apart
their traditional animosity.
Therefore, states are economically integrating
to each other for mutual interest and social,
economic, environmental and political gains. However,
states are also associating to each other under
the bound of various agreements for ensuring a
healthy social, political, economical and other
global environmental concerns. Among the various
agreements between states in relation to mutual
cooperation for same objectives, NAFTA has become
contemporary debatable issue altogether for America,
Canada and Mexico.
NAFTA
NAFTA is basically known as The North American
Free Trade Agreement, which is a wide-ranging
trade agreement between Canada, America, Mexico.
This agreement links all these three member countries
into a relationship of free trade. Free trade
basically provides such means for trade where
there is no tariffs or trade barriers when these
countries import and export their products to
each other. However, this results into positive
as well as negative implications to all these
countries nationally as well as internationally.
Therefore, as the agreement came into effect by
January 1994, the various trade barriers were
ended on some goods at the same time, it was also
decided to eliminate some goods in a specific
period of time.
However, NAFTA does not possess any supranational
authoritative or legislative body that can govern
or make and implement laws superior to the national
laws. Therefore, according to the American law,
it is categorized as a body of congressional executive.
NAFTA And Environment
Regional integration and cooperation for various
environmental and economic concerns is an extension
of globalization. However, NAFTA in the shape
of regional cooperation between these three member
countries has proved to be very significant in
enhancing regional trade. At the same time, it
is also noticed that the environmental conditions
along the U.S-Mexico border in the North American
region is immensely affected with the various
policies of NAFTA, which has now reached to the
level of political debates in both the regions.
Regarding the environmental degradation in the
member countries of NAFTA, the opinion is twofold.
On the one side there is the public opinion that
is sharply divided into criticism, while on the
other hand the Environmental Defense Funds explains
that various environmental problems, which are
presumed to be caused by NAFTA is basically rooted
to the macroeconomics and social trends as it
was decided if any environmental degradation results
due to the regional trade integration, NAFTA would
be strengthen with the mutual cooperation of the
member countries in coping the environmental challenge.
Otherwise, alone it cannot address to the various
environmental issues and thus will not be held
responsible alone.
Therefore, after the efforts of various governmental
and labours groups, the member countries of NAFTA
decided to add sustainable development in the
preamble of NAFTA. This was basically to stregnthen
both the sanitary and poly-sanitary trade requirements
as well as to assure that NAFTA will not encourage
to lower down the environmental standard of the
regions. So NAFTA assured to solve any environmental
problems with in these member countries of the
region. With this NAFTA for the first time in
any trade agreement introduced a multilateral
agreement sustaining environmental development
while setting significant standards of examples
that challenges the Free Trade Agreement of both
the World Trade Organization and the Americas
negotiators to cooperate and work with authenticity
and legitimacy by writing for the environmental
protection directing the future trade agreements.
Policies of NAFTA
Though, the basic goal of NAFTA is to promote
a healthy environment among the signatory countries
of NAFTA. At the same time, these member countries
also follow the logic that the more they get themselves
involved into regional trade, the more they will
be able to generate economic growth with in the
region. This will also help them to stimulate
the demand for a healthier environment and result
into sustainable development, which is the ultimate
goal of NAFTA. On the other hand, the various
political and environmentalist groups challenge
the efforts and policies of NAFTA expressing the
views that the various economic activities of
NAFTA that are leading to economic growth is basically
causing environmental degradation.
Therefore, the opponents of NAFTA are focusing
to complicate the very objectives of NAFTA and
its various economic policies by offering the
five fundamentals of its green herrings. However,
these policies include that NAFTA will force a
huge amount of American agricultural firms towards
the Southern border to harvest the advantages
and benefits that were neglected due to various
environmental regulations and enforcements. However,
this basic policy principle of NAFTA is also known
as the “Mexico Pollution Haven.” At
the same time, due to the shortcomings and weaknesses
of the Mexican Ministry of Social Development
in implementing and enforcing these policies,
the environmental impact is immense. On the other
hand the opponents are taking advantage of this
and spreading that NAFTA is causing environmental
degradation. However, one also needs to understand
that such isolated trends should not be taken
as the general representation of the policies
of NAFTA. Yet, research
shows that there are few important aspects that
need to be adopted as the policy implementation
requirements for the a more successful role of
NAFTA in regard to uplifting the stigma of environmental
degradation. Therefore, these environmental policies
should be prioritized and the various environmental
costs should be relocated. For instance, the environmental
costs much be considered as the most significant
element of the total costs of the operation. Moreover,
the existing trade barriers should also be rearranged
in order to increase the level of trade. At the
same time, it should also be taken into priority
that the relocation cost should not be that much
high that they result in counteracting the savings
from the reduced requirements for protecting the
environment. Amongst these policy priorities,
there must be a difference in the environmental
regulations between two countries and these differences
must be high for specific decided time period.
Impact and Policy Response of NAFTA
The various policies of NAFTA immensely influenced
to the environments of its member countries. These
very policies though increased economic growth
but immensely responded due to the negative environmental
concerns of all its signatories.
Though research shows that there have been many
trade disputes among the member countries of NAFTA
but its various polices to enhance trade among
the signatories has proved to be a great milestone
in international trade as it not only introduced
trade liberalization but also positively influenced
the economies of these three countries, which
are America, Mexico and Canada. At the same time,
it is also observed that the various agreements
of NAFTA in regard to the agricultural development
and trade among these countries tremendously impacted
the economies of
America, Mexico and Canada. Many agreements were
signed as a result of NAFTA’s efforts. For
instance, GAAT was signed several years back where
Mexico and Canada joined later but when America,
Mexico and Canada joined together for economic
progress adopting the policies of free trade and
trade liberalization. Amongst these also include
agreements like WTO, FTAA etc. However, due to
the various trade barriers like tariffs, quota
and other trade barriers, the domestic economy
was immensely affected while international trade
was increased. Consequently, the domestic producers
earn more benefit where the consumers suffered
economic and market insecurity.
Therefore, economic disturbances and dissatisfaction
with in the market distribution was first experienced
in the domestic market of America. It was observed
that the agricultural income and profit was decreasing
constantly with the constant increase in the industrial
incomes. Therefore, NAFTA was born with the principle
objective to remove trade barriers and enhance
economic growth in the country by supporting mutual
interest and economic benefits to all its member
countries.
However, as a result of the very policies of NAFTA,
more then half of the trade barriers between Mexico
and America was eliminated while the remaining
tariffs and other restrictions are planned to
be eliminated in the coming future by the year
2008. On the other hand, the very policy of NAFTA
in regard to encourage competition among these
member countries for qualitative and quantitative
economic growth as well as the concern to protect
intellectual and property rights for social and
environmental development, is influencing in a
positive manner. This policy increased the investment
opportunities with patents and copyrights along
the introduction of trademarks. Moreover, the
various trade rules and principles also helped
in settling various trade disputes among the member
countries. Above all the most important implication
of the policies of NAFTA was the idea of to set
a trilateral commission to administer the various
business transactions among these countries.
Therefore, these diverse economic policies are
leading to great environmental awareness among
the three signatories of NAFTA where they are
responding in a very positive manner. Consequently,
NAFTA is recognized as the first international
trade agreement in the American history, which
also included environmental policies.
However, the stringency of the environmental regulations
are observed to be related to the harshness of
an individual country’s trading partner,
as the various trading policies of that very country
directly affects the over all environment with
a dominance of the trading partner. Therefore,
Mexico has responded in developing its own laws
and procedures to enforce these very laws to secure
the environmental concerns resulting out of the
policies of NAFTA. However, all these laws are
proven as secondary when the question of commercial
and financial interest arises, which weakens the
law enforcement.
On the other hand, few of the huge firms that
leading the local economy account has principally
increased resulting to environmental contamination.
For instance, it is estimated that around 80%
of the Mexican export industry is ruled by the
two percent of the total number of companies in
the country. However, most of these companies
are transnational corporations. Amongst these,
the electronic, textiles as well as chemical sectors
are basically related to the American Environmental
Protection Agencies resulting in the utilization
of immensely toxic and dangerous processes.
At the same time, the various environmental policies
and tools planned by NAFTA are proven to be weak.
For instance, the NAD Bank and the BECC. Since
the last three years they have failed to develop
any proper environmental infrastructure. Though
during the period of President Clinton, institutions
like the greenest trade agreement was signed as
a representative of NAFTA but it resulted in increments
of loans instead of supporting any positive change
in the environment of the member countries.
On the other hand, the idea to increase the number
of foreign companies, which can encourage the
relocation of production to Mexico and benefit
the decreasing environmental and labor costs resulted
to a more severe and intense situation. Consequently
it aggravated and extended environmental degradation
with in the member countries.
However, various environmental agreements were
also signed to coup this challenge like the NAAEC,
but no fruitful results could be achieved up till
now. The public opinion is strongly criticizing
the very policies of NAFTA and the weak mechanism
of environmental protection standards, which are
though boosting trade but diminishing the healthy
environment of the people. Therefore, the role
of public complains instigated political pressure
on NAFTA, which raised the demands of not only
the public but also various political, social
and environmental groups for securing environmental
concerns in the country.
NAFTA Causes Economic Degradation ?
Despite of the fact that the various policies
of NAFTA tremendously resulted in economic development
due to its policies of trade liberalization and
free market economy. But at the same time, it
not only influenced the local markets of all these
countries with an increase in the international
market but is also liable for causing economic
integration in the member countries. However,
NAFTA has initiated few programs in collaboration
to its member countries and signed few agreements
in regard to protect and secure the environment
but has failed to achive this most important environmental
and social cause.
Therefore, the deterioroting environmental conditions
in these countries that are resulting into various
dangerous health problems have now become a debatable
issue among these member countries of NAFTA. This
debate is basically initiated by the various political
and environmental groups stigmatizing and challanging
the actual status of NAFTA.
Conclusion
Globalization has introduced many challenges along
its trends of boosting economic growth of all
the countries that are a particpant of this economic
warfare. At one side, the developed countries
are enhancing global and foreign trade by practicing
the polices of trade liberalization, regional
economic integration and privatization. On the
other side, there are immense implications of
this speedy economic development of the world.
Therefore, the local economies of these countreis
are basically suffering due the differences in
the national and internaional trade policies specifically
among the countries who are engaged into regional
trades with each other. NAFTA is one of the case
which emerged with the objected to enhance economic
development in the time when these countried were
economically facing various crises. Though it
resulted in a very much positive manner in regard
to economic growth. However, NAFTA due to its
few weak policies cemented with the weakness of
implementing these policies and enforcement of
the various laws made and agreed by the signatories
has resulted to a dangerous level of environmental
degradation.
Consequently, the public opinion has started playing
its role in a very influential manner, which earned
the support of various environmental and politicl
groups against the role of NAFTA. Therefore, the
stigma that NAFTA causes environmental degradation
has now become a debatable issue not only with
in the member countries but all over the world.
Therefore, NAFTA needs to revive its existing
policies and also strengthen its agreements signed
that are significantly related to environmental
protection among Canada, America and Mexico.
However in order to maintain a balance in the
economic growth and environmental securities,
these member countries should focus on their trade
invesment policies and make them suitable to the
social and environmental concerns of its member
countries. At the same time the funding sources
should also focus to keep on negotiating on the
environmental polices and its effective implementation
from time to time to build an understanding on
the current environmental problems with a check
and balance on the previous accounts and results
in relation to environmental development of these
countries.
However, in order to ensure the bright future
of NAFTA, it should also redisign its over all
social, economical as well as envoronmental polices
while providing equal attention to these areas
as individual priority concerns. At the same time,
there should also be an increase in developing
trinational institutions keeping in mind the respect
of the soverignity of the member countries.
Though the contemporary policy responses of Canada,
Mexico and U.S do not predict a bright and healthy
future of NAFTA, however in the coming decade
it can improve a lot if focus on prioritizing
its polices by maintaing a balance among its environmental,
social and economic concerns.
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