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F.T.A.A.

F.T.A.A. Free Trade Area of the Americas. Nicole Anello Kara Breissinger Neena Dreslin Nicholas Lee. NAFTA- Objectives. Reduce trade barriers between parties Promote conditions of fair competition Increase investment opportunities Protection of intellectual property rights

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F.T.A.A.

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  1. F.T.A.A. Free Trade Area of the Americas Nicole Anello Kara Breissinger Neena Dreslin Nicholas Lee

  2. NAFTA- Objectives • Reduce trade barriers between parties • Promote conditions of fair competition • Increase investment opportunities • Protection of intellectual property rights • Overall, to benefit all members through increased and fairer trade practices

  3. PROS Created jobs in Mexico Increased trade between all partners Reduced tariffs and non-tariff barriers CONS Pollution at the Mexican border Very low wages Poor labor standards in Mexico U.S. jobs lost NAFTA

  4. U.S. companies want to take advantage of low cost labor They want to get away from unions Hoped to build lucrative markets in Northern Mexico The low cost labor is preventing Mexicans from improving their standard of living No unions=unfair working conditions Crime is increasing, native work force is being exhausted Objectives vs. Reality

  5. What is going on today?? • The facts show that Mexico has been harmed in many ways • U.S. blue-collar jobs have decreased on the whole • The net impact of immigration should be that it will decrease • Cultural identity is being lost

  6. Sweatshops & Human Rights • Proponents of NAFTA Push: • More Jobs (US, Mexico, and Canada) • Higher Wages • Better Deals on Goods and Services • Effects • US workers lost hundreds of thousands of jobs • Mexican workers encountered low wages and unfair labor practices

  7. Claim Against Washington State Apple Industry • Failure of US Labor Law to Protect Workers’ Rights • Inadequacy and Failure of US Labor Law • Mary Mendez (worked 7 years in apple industry) • Difficulty Forming Union (armed guards) • Threatened with Immigration • Unfair Wage Reductions if in Union • Anti-union Propaganda and Threats

  8. In Addition… • Illegal Chemical Hazards • Fired and Overworked Injured People • “Anglos” had lighter jobs and are better paid • May take up to two years for Labor Law Violations to Reach Arbitration

  9. Chapter 11 • Purpose • To ensure that US investors abroad receive the same type of protection that foreign investors get in the US with or without a treaty • Reality • May lead to a fundamentally different world in the degree of power corporations hold on democratic governments -Dan Seligman, Director of the Sierra Club’s Trading Program

  10. Chapter 11 in Practice • California Case: Methanex v. the US • Methanex, a Canadian Company • Produces Gasoline Additive MTBE • Caused cancer in lab animals • Gov. Gray Davis authorized its phase out • Filed a suit for $970 million in compensation • Behind closed doors • Questions our own sovereignty • Is it our decision or an un-elected body’s decision? • NAFTA denies tribunals the power to overrule state law

  11. History of the FTAAFree Trade Area of the Americas • First Summit of the Americas: Miami, 1994 • 34 heads of state • addressed common issues and sought solutions to shared problems • Declaration of Principles • defined the goals of the FTAA • 12 working groups established • negotiate for the FTAA • lead to a committed initiation of FTAA negotiations in 1998

  12. What Does it Mean for the US in the future? • Possible free trade with all countries of North, Central, and South America • Increased competition and standards for US made goods and services • Further integration; similar to the modern day European Union • Creation of a single currency and common market

  13. To promote prosperity through increased economic integration and free trade among the countries of our hemisphere. To establish a Free Trade Area, concluding negotiations by 2005. To maximize market openness through high levels of disciplines. General Objectives

  14. General Objectives • To provide opportunities to facilitate the integration of the smaller economies in the FTAA. • To strive to make our trade liberalization and environmental policies mutually supportive. • To secure observance and promotion of workers rights.

  15. Free trade region Benefits of further integration Increased competition Promote prosperity Congress not involved NGOs denied participation Extreme power given to corporations “Deepen negative effects of NAFTA” PROS & CONS

  16. Possible Negative Effects • Ability of corporations to bypass environmental and worker protection laws • Services will be liberalized • Exacerbation of environmental destruction • Negative expansion of IPR • Increase use of GMOs

  17. Human Rights • Largest fear • FTAA values corporate profits over human costs • increase of poverty and inequality

  18. QUESTIONS?

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