Teamsters, Hoffa Jr. and Rank Opportunism On The Left

Doug Henwood dhenwood at panix.com
Thu Jul 12 11:46:20 PDT 2001


Seth Ackerman wrote:


>That's great, but how can you defend trade agreements like NAFTA that outlaw
>industrial policy, outlaw performance requirements on investment, outlaw
>patent licensing, outlaw environmental regulations?

Who's defending NAFTA? IP restrictions are criminal and repulsive. But seven years after the thing took effect, I think it must be admitted that all the disasters that people predicted would occur haven't really happened. There was no giant sucking sound in either the US or Canada. Employment and real wages are up in Mexico over the last few years. The economic integration of North America predated NAFTA, and is a much larger story than a trade agreement. The rollback of environmental and labor regulations is also a much larger story than a trade agreement; that's not what made Clinton allow clear-cutting in national forests, nor is it what made Bush lust to open up ANWR to drilling. The focus on NAFTA is neither accurate nor politically productive. And what are we nostalgic for in Mexico - the PRI monopoly?

Doug



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