Quote:
Originally Posted by Americano
My apology if you were personally offended. I do not consider you ignorant. I could attempt posting the numerous restrictions on Canadian products exported to the US, including tariffs based on volume of Canadian exports of products competing with US produced products, but my time on this planet is limited. IMO Canada, and other countries who export goods and services to the US, overcomes blatant US protectionism initiated by lobbyists representing inefficient US industries and subsidized US food products. Most other countries impose these same types of restrictions on specific US exports, so I'm not solely blaming the US.
My definition of free trade would be confined to elimination of government restrictions inspired by the private sector in protectionist, unilateral form. That just doesn't happen.
For anyone truly interested in the employment pros/cons of NAFTA and its predecessor CUFTA, this report and subsequent testimony to the US Senate Subcommittee on International trade of The Committee On Finance is a good read and presents the employment consequences of NAFTA to Canada, Mexico and the US:
http://www.carnegieendowment.org/fil...ntestimony.pdf
There are some surprises in the report that counter popular US sentiment of US jobs being lost to Canada and Mexico due to NAFTA, and affirmation of the fact that all three North American countries are becoming no more than assembly points for products actually produced in China and other developing countries who now possess the cheap labor, efficient manufacturing and infrastructure support required in a global economy. |
Glad to hear that my acceptance of NAFTA as good public policy is not to be considered evidence of my ignorance.
I'm aware of the many non-tariff barriers to free trade that are routinely invoked in NAFTA disputes. And yes, the majority of these derive from private capital seeking to use the Government to create pseudo-monopoly conditions for thier products.
That being said, the point I'm making about NAFTA is that, for the most part, the majority of trade between the USA and Canada is indeed free trade - comparatively speaking.
It is to be noted that Canadians used to make many of the same complaints about NAFTA as are common in the USA these days. That was until it was conclusively proven that NAFTA produced a net gain in real jobs in Canada. That pretty much shut down the anti-NAFTA arguments in Canada.