The Negative Effects of the North American Free Trade Agreement

1167 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: benefits and costs of NAFTA

The Negative Effects of the North American Free Trade Agreement In January 1994, the United States, Mexico, and Canada implemented the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), forming the largest free trade zone in the world. The goal of NAFTA is to create better trading conditions through tariff reduction, removal of investment barriers, and improvement of intellectual property protection. NAFTA continues to gradually reduce tariffs on set dates and aims to eliminate all tariffs by the year 2004. Before NAFTA was established, investing in Mexico was a difficult process. Investors needed the Mexican Government's approval and were also required to meet specific investment guidelines. These requirements necessitated investors to export a set level of goods and services, utilize domestic goods and services, and transfer technology to competitors. Under NAFTA, investors no longer need government approval to invest and are treated as domestic investors. NAFTA has also increased intellectual property rights and allowed companies to obtain patents in Mexico and Canada. In the past, companies were hesitant to export research and development intensive goods; with increased intellectual property protection, however, exports of these goods have shown a definite increase. As a result of better trading conditions, exports and imports of most other goods have increased along with the research and development intensive goods. In Mexico, the elimination of investment barriers has allowed investment to expand. Increased trading and investment has then created many jobs, raised the Gross Domestic Product, and lowered consumer prices. The free trade that NAFTA has established among the United States, Mexico, and Canada has... ... middle of paper ... ...d exports but have lost their government subsidies, which effectively negates the gains from increased exports. There are many benefits of NAFTA, which are increased employment, raised national income, higher productivity, and lower consumer prices. The negative effects are increased pollution, loss of U.S. jobs, and unfair treatment and unsafe conditions for Mexican workers. The benefits definitely outweigh the negative effects in the long run because improved economies will raise the standard of living and promote better overall economic growth in all of North America. Bibliography: Works Cited Dentzer, Susan. The Pain and Gain of Trade. U.S. News Sept. 1992 Harbrecht, Douglas. What Has NAFTA Wrought? Plenty Of Trade. Business Week Nov. 21, 1994: 48-49 Ebrahim, Margaret Can Mexico and Big Business USA Buy NAFTA? The Nation June 14, 1993.

Show More
Related

  • Science in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein and Hard Times by Charles Dickens

    3616 Words  | 8 Pages

    10.     Allingham, P. (2000) Charles Dickens’ Hard Times for These Times as an Industrial Novel [Online]. Available: http://www.victoriaweb.com [Accessed: 25th April 2005].

    Read More

  • Balance in Charles Dickens' Hard Times

    620 Words  | 2 Pages

    Balance; it is one attribute that almost everyone strives for within the trials and tribulations of everyday life. However, the delicate conditions needed to achieve such a plateau vary from person to person. It is Charles Dickens, in his novel Hard Times, who walks along a great tight rope in hopes of finding a medium between the multiple extremes. Using a satirical angle, Dickens tells the story of a community who becomes caught in the trap of one side of the spectrum, trapped with the cold, hard facts of life. In this world of rigid schedules and mind-numbing tasks, he is able to effectively display the absurdity of such circumstances.

    Read More

  • Cruel Intentions in Hard Times by Charles Dickens

    2047 Words  | 5 Pages

    Charles Dickens wrote Hard Times as an attempt to show the injustices of life for many different people and to explain that in order to be happy, people need one another. Through the epiphanies of many characters in this novel, Dickens shows their realization of this fact and how they plan to pursue their goals from there on. These characters are used as mouthpieces to spread the theme to the reader. Louisa Gradgrind, Stephen Blackpool, and Tom Gradgrind are such characters. All three follow their respective lives for the first book of the novel. As the story progresses, the reader sees these characters become unhappy and distant with their previous views as life begins to turn on them. For each, a last fleeting moment presents itself as they plan to change their ways and move forward to their best suited destination. Stephen, Louisa and Tom differ in their prior lives, their paths to change, and final plan of action, but they change for the better. These changes are used by Dickens to voice what he wishes in this novel. Through the use of many literary elements Dickens does this. Dickens uses imagery and foreshadowing to reflect the change in Louisa’s, Tom’s and Stephen’s view on life.

    Read More

  • Sissy Jupe

    1303 Words  | 3 Pages

    Dickens, Charles. Hard Times. Ed. Fred Kaplan and Sylvere Monod. A Norton Critical Edition. 3rd ed. New York: Norton, 2001. 5-222

    Read More

  • Silas Marner And Hard Times: Redemption

    1559 Words  | 4 Pages

    Dickens, Charles. Hard Times: An Authority Text, Background, Sources, And Contemporary Reactions Criticism. NewYork: W.W. Norton & Company. 2,1990. Ch.1: 1, ch.7: 203, ch.8: 210 & 211, ch.9: 218.

    Read More

  • Hard Times

    943 Words  | 2 Pages

    In the novel Hard Times, by Charles Dickens, we can immediately see the problems that occurred in England around the times period of the mid 18oo’s. Dickens shows us how the class system works and what the economy was then and what it would shape out to be. This novel is split into three books, the “Sowing”, “Reaping”, and “Garnering”.

    Read More

  • Industrialization and Utilitarianism in Dickens' Hard Times

    1490 Words  | 3 Pages

    Charles Dickens uses his fictitious town in Hard Times to represent the industrialization of England at that time or close to it. Most of this representation, however, isn't accurately described compared the way things really were during industrialization. It is important to remember throughout this paper that not only is Hard Times a work of fiction, it was meant to be a satire, a parody of ideas and ways of thinking at the time. In most respects, it wasn't meant to accurately describe the way things were.

    Read More

  • Dickens and his Stucture Of Hard Times

    875 Words  | 2 Pages

    “On every page Hard Times manifests its identity as a polemical work, a critique of Mid-Victorian

    Read More

  • Review of chapters and ideas in “Hard Times” by Charles Dickens

    1341 Words  | 3 Pages

    Hard times” by Charles dickens can be used as a unique insight into what England was like during the industrial revolution. “Hard times” use of setting and people to create picture of life in the nineteenth century. The narrator uses two major methods to illustrate the time to the reader. The way” hard times” shows the history of the industrial revolution is by describing the city of “Coketown.” In chapter five of “hard times” you can clearly see the time period come to life.

    Read More

  • Essay On Utilitarianism In Hard Times

    1614 Words  | 4 Pages

    Set in the ever changing world of the Industrial Revolution, Charles Dickens’ novel Hard Times begins with a description of a utilitarian paradise, a world that follows a prescribed set of logically laid-out facts, created by the illustrious and "eminently practical" Mr. Gradgrind. However, one soon realizes that Gradgrind's utopia is only a simulacrum, belied by the devastation of lives devoid of elements that "feed the heart and soul," as well as the mind. As the years fly by, the weaknesses of Gradgrind's carefully constructed system become painfully apparent, especially in the lives of his children Louisa and Tom, as well as in the poor workers employed by one Mr. Josiah Bounderby, a wealthy factory owner and a subscriber to Gradgrind's system. Dickens, through the shattering of Gradgrind's utilitarian world, tells us that no methods, not even constant oppression and abuse, can defeat and overcome two basic needs of humans, our fundamental needs for emotion and imagination.

    Read More

  • Hard Times and Wuthering Heights

    2280 Words  | 5 Pages

    When considering representation, the ways in which the authors choose to portray their characters can have a great impact on their accessibility. A firm character basis is the foundation for any believable novel. It is arguable that for an allegorical novel - in which Hard Times takes its structure, Dickens uses an unusually complex character basis. The characters in Hard Times combine both the simplistic characteristics of a character developed for allegorical purposes, as well as the concise qualities of ‘real’ people (McLucas, 1995). These characters are portrayed to think and feel like we as readers do and react to their situations in the same way that most of us would. Such attributes are what give the characters life and allow us to relate to their decisions.

    Read More

  • Hard Times Themes

    1146 Words  | 3 Pages

    Charles Dickens was known to be very controversial and outspoken in his books and Hard Times was no exception. Hard Times takes place in the industrial-centered city of Coketown, England where Dickens’ clearly attempts to expose the massive inequality between economic/social classes as well as the outright narcissism of the middle to upper classes who are only concerned with making a profit in the most practical/efficient way. Charles Dickens is in no way subtle throughout this book and attempted to repeat his main theme constantly in order for the reader to quickly understand what was trying to be said. In Hard Times, Charles Dickens seems to suggest that the introduction and execution of an industrialized world has forced humans

    Read More

  • Hard Times and Charles Dickens

    1822 Words  | 4 Pages

    ...aid that his telling of history is most certainly bound to have many exaggerations incorporated for effect. I believe that this is an excellent technique for fictitious stories with fictitious scenarios, but it is questionable whether it is in good taste to deploy this technique in a book whose implied intent is to act as a portrayal of history. It can give the wrong impression to those readers who have not been previously familiarized with the historical information. Though Dickens attempt at historical fiction leaves questions to be answered about the factual basis of the book, it must be acknowledged that his understanding of human relationships and emotions is impeccable. Hard Times describes some of the most brilliantly vivid and lively characters that I have ever read about in a book. So, if one is to read the book with the intentions of gaining an understanding of issues pertaining to the English Industrial Revolution, then they are best advised to look elsewhere, but if mixing fact with fiction doesn’t bother you and you want to read an excellent book by one of the greatest authors of the 19th century, then Hard Times is an excellent choice.

    Read More

  • John Stuart Mill and The Influence of Utilitarianism on Hard Times

    1284 Words  | 3 Pages

    The novel, Hard Times by Charles Dickens revolves around the central idea of English society, including the social, economical, and political issues during the mid 19th century. Fact superior to imagination is one of the main themes of this novel, apparent mainly in book one. Mr. Gradgrind raises his children to ignore their imaginations and anything that is not cold hard fact. For example, Louisa, his daughter, in particular tends to question this rationalism with her curiosity about the circus. There are countless examples in which Mr. Gradgrind bestows his “wisdom” on both his children, and students in the education system located in Coketown. The way Mr. and Mrs. Gradgrind raised their children, described by Dickens, parallels the way in which John Stuart Mill was raised by his own parents in London during the 19th century. John, similarly to Louisa, was educated with the idea that any of his own imagination or creativity was wrong. His parents would burn toys in front of him, emulating the idea that any object or concept that brings happiness is simply wrong. His father, Sir James Stuart Mill, also had a major impact on Mill’s childhood and even manhood. The majority of his infancy was centered on education, and the thought that hard-core knowledge was the solution to any conflict. During this time, his father would make him read Greek and Latin classics to ensure that he were prepared for disciplinary jobs in the future. Through this childhood of fact, and purely fact, along with a lack of moral influences instituted in his life, constituted Mill to become an advocate for utilitarianism. This theory was proposed by Jeremy Bentham who was indeed Mill’s family friend and tutor, emphasizing the idea of maximizing happiness and ...

    Read More

  • Hard Times Literary Essay

    786 Words  | 2 Pages

    Charles Dickens uses satire in his novel Hard Times as he attempts to bring to light social issues such as class division, education, and industrialization in nineteen-century English society. Hard Times was originally published in weekly segments in Dickens’ magazine, Household Words, from April 1854 to August 1854 (Cody 1). In order to better fit into the Libraries at the time, Charles Dickens divided Hard Times into three books: Sowing, Reaping, and Garnering. Each book with its own theme, guides us through the lives of the characters living in the fictional city Dickens calls, “Coketown.”

    Read More

More about The Negative Effects of the North American Free Trade Agreement

Open Document