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Economic Geography. Economic Unions SOL WG.9d. Economic Unions. Examples of economic unions: EU - European Union NAFTA - North American Free Trade Agreement ASEAN - Association of Southeast Asian Nations OPEC - Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries. European Union.
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Economic Geography Economic Unions SOL WG.9d
Economic Unions • Examples of economic unions: • EU - European Union • NAFTA - North American Free Trade Agreement • ASEAN - Association of Southeast Asian Nations • OPEC - Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries
European Union • The European Union is an economic union in Europe. Most countries in Europe are members of the EU. Switzerland, Norway, and Iceland did not join the EU. • One goal of the EU is to create a common market by getting rid of tariffs, improving transportation networks, introducing one currency, and making it easier for people to travel between countries.
Euro Blue = Area where euro is used Red = Other eu members
NAFTA • The North American Free Trade Agreement is a trade agreement between Canada, the United States, and Mexico. NAFTA has eliminated tariffs between these three countries, which means there is no tax on imported goods.
NAFTA • Some negative impacts of NAFTA are: • The price of food increased in Mexico due to cheap imported food from U.S. agribusiness. • U.S. manufacturing workers lost jobs because many factories moved to Mexico. • Large factories called maquiladoras operate on the Mexican side of the border and they often mistreat workers and pay low wages.
ASEAN • ASEAN stands for Association of Southeast Asian Nations. • ASEAN has ten members: Brunei, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Malaysia, Thailand, Singapore, Philippines, Indonesia, and Myanmar (Burma). • ASEAN has many goals but it has reduced or eliminated tariffs between most of the members.
OPEC • OPEC stands for Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries. The members of this organization set the price and production of oil. • Most of the members of OPEC are in the Middle East, but Venezuela, Nigeria, and Indonesia are also members. • Not every country that has oil is a member of OPEC. Russia and the U.S. are not members.
Advantages of Unions • More efficient industries • Access to larger markets • Access to natural, human, and capital resources without restrictions • Greater influence on world market
Disadvantages of Unions • Closing of some industries • Concentration of some industries in certain countries • Agribusiness replacing family farms • Difficulty in agreeing on common economic policies
Agribusiness • Agribusiness refers to large scale farming done by businesses. Agribusiness operations typically cultivate thousands of acres of land or raise thousands of animals at a time and they are integrated with the processing and distribution networks.