-Caveat Lector-
School of Real-Life Results
Report Card
December 1998
Student: North American Free Trade Agreement
Grading Period: January 1, 1994 to January 1, 1999
Individual Subjects: Grade:
U.S. Job Creation and Job Quality F
Agriculture F
The Environment F
Public Health F
Wage Levels in the U.S. and Mexico F
Economic Development and
Living Standards in Mexico F
Sovereignty and
Democratic Governance F
Highway Safety,
Drug Enforcement and Smuggling F
Labor and Environmental Side
Agreements and Training ProgramsF
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Comments: NAFTA's proponents promised benefits for the U.S., Canada and
Mexico. The promises - 200,000 new U.S. jobs from NAFTA per year, higher
wages in Mexico and a growing U.S. trade surplus with Mexico,
environmental clean-up and improved health along the border - have all
failed to materialize. However, as this report illustrates, after five
years, NAFTA fails to pass the most conservative test of all: a simple
do-no-harm test. Under NAFTA, conditions have deteriorated in many areas
in which gains were promised. In each subject NAFTA's grade is a failing
one - data and examples are provided to explain why.
NAFTA at 5
January 1, 1999 is the fifth anniversary of the implementation of the
North American Free Trade Agreement: NAFTA now has an extensive real
life record. Public Citizen's Global Trade Watch conducted a detailed
review of that track record, assessing the results of NAFTA in several
crucial areas. This Report Card - reflecting the results of our review -
grades NAFTA on the major issues.
Impact on Job Creation and Job Quality in the U.S. Impact on
Agriculture Impact on the Environment Impact on Public Health Impact
on Wages in the U.S. and Mexico Impact on Economic Development and
Living Standards in Mexico Impact on Democratic Governance and
Sovereignty Impact on Highway Safety, Drug Enforcement and Smuggling
The Performance of NAFTA's Trade Adjustment Assistance Program The
Performance of NAFTA's Labor and Environmental Side Agreements
NAFTA's proponents promised the pact would create new benefits and gains
in each of these areas. The promised benefits - 200,000 new U.S. jobs
from NAFTA per year, higher wages in Mexico and a growing U.S. trade
surplus with Mexico, environmental clean-up and improved health along
the border - have to a one failed to materialize.(1)
However, as this report illustrates, after five years, NAFTA fails to
pass the most conservative test of all: a simple do-no-harm test. Under
NAFTA, conditions have not only have not improved, they have
deteriorated in many areas. As a result, on each of the issues examined,
the only fair grade for NAFTA is a failing one - hard data and real-life
examples tell the story.
The American Public Also Grades NAFTA a Failure
Recent opinion polls show that the majority of Americans are aware of
NAFTA's poor performance. Asked for their views, everyday citizens give
NAFTA "F's" for benefitting the public interest and "A's" for boosting
big corporations.
66% of Americans believe that free trade agreements between the U.S.
and other countries cost the U.S. jobs(2) 66% of Americans believe that
NAFTA has helped large corporations(3) 27% of Americans believe that
NAFTA has helped small business in the U.S.(4) 58% of Americans agree
that foreign trade has been bad for the U.S. economy because cheap
imports have cost wages and jobs here(5) 81% of Americans say that
Congress should not accept trade agreements that give other countries
the power to overturn U.S. laws on consumer safety, labor or the
environment(6) For the first time ever, Americans say the U.S. trade
deficit is the most important economic issue facing the country, above
taxes, the federal budget deficit, and inflation. In 1993, only 7% of
Americans thought the trade deficit was the most important economic
issue facing the country, trailing unemployment, the federal deficit and
taxes.(7)
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U.S. Job Creation and Job Quality
...
On the issue of U.S. job creation, the central focus of pro-NAFTA
compaigning, it is fair to measure NAFTA's real-life results against its
backers' expansive promises of hundreds of thousands of new, high-paying
U.S. jobs. However, even measured against the more lenient "do no harm"
standard, NAFTA has been a failure. Using trade flow data to calculate
job loss under NAFTA (incorporating exactly the formula used by NAFTA's
backers to predict 200,000 per year NAFTA job creation) yields net job
destruction numbers in the hundreds of thousands. Whether the loss of
hundreds of thousands of jobs qualifies as "a giant sucking sound"
depends on the ear of the listener. It is clear, however, that NAFTA has
indisputably led to widespread job loss, with over 200,000 U.S. workers
certified as NAFTA
