Obama Reaffirms Promise to Renegotiate NAFTA
1/26/2009
U.S. President Barack Obama continues to back a revision of the North American Free Trade Agreement, particularly labor, environmental, and agricultural provisions, as the fair-trade movement gains clout throughout the region, writes policy analyst Laura Carlsen.
The North American Free Trade Agreement was launched in 1994 as “one of the world’s largest free trade zones,” promising economic growth for each of its adherents — Canada, Mexico, and the United States. According to NAFTANow.org, a Web site managed by the accord’s signatory-state governments, “trade and investment levels in North America have increased, bringing strong economic growth, job creation, and better prices and selection in consumer goods” in the 14 years since the treaty’s signing. On the contrary, says policy expert Laura Carlsen (see article below), nationwide polls in Canada and the United States indicate the majority of citizens favor renegotiation, and popular demonstrations in Mexico suggest a similar sentiment. Fair trade advocates in the particpating nations also argue, respectively, that the deal has caused severe job loss in the United States, reduced food sovereignty in Mexico, and undermined protection of energy and water reserves in Canada
Harold
