Free Republic

Since the passage of NAFTA, the American economy, which was already stagnating, has gone downhill at an increasing clip. When we examine the details of the “free trade” agreement, it is easy to see why it has caused so much devastation.

Our trade surplus with Mexico turned into a deficit. It went from $885 million in May of 1994 to $6.9 billion a year later.

MEXICO CITY (AP) -- Mexico said Monday it will increase tariffs on a total of 99 U.S. products to pressure Washington to lift a ban on Mexican cargo trucks entering the United States. Last year, Mexico added tariffs to 89 products after the U.S. canceled a pilot program that allowed some Mexican trucks to transport goods into the United State. The Economy Department said the latest step will affect about $2.5 billion worth of trade involving agricultural and industrial products from 43 U.S. states. It said the list of products would be released later this week. The department said the...

MEXICO CITY - Two Mexican tractor-trailers have delivered payloads in New York and South Carolina, becoming the first trucks to operate deep in the United States under a long-delayed, NAFTA-mandated program criticized on both sides of the border. The trucks, operated by Transportes Olympic, a company based outside the northern Mexican city of Monterrey, crossed into the United States carrying steel construction materials and will haul similar products from Arkansas and Alabama back across the border, Mexican Transportation Secretary Luis Tellez said Sunday. Since 1982, Mexican trucks have been allowed to operate in the United States only within a 25-mile...

Florida FTAA, Inc. is leading a delegation to the Private Sector Forum taking place in Buenos Aires, Argentina and preceding the IV Summit of the Americas "Creating Jobs to Address Poverty and Strengthen Democratic Governance" taking place in Mar del Plata November 4 and 5. The Private Sector Forum is endorsed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the OAS General Secretariat. About 200 executives from the hemisphere will discuss the role of the private sector in the creation of jobs to fight poverty, the promotion of democratic governance and transparency, education and technological innovation as well as trade, infrastructure...

For decades, federal officials have ignored the pleas of American citizens to secure our borders against an immense, ongoing migration invasion that includes not only millions of “common variety” illegal aliens, but also drug traffickers, terrorists, and other violent criminals. Now, under the pretense of providing security, the Bush administration is adopting an outrageous policy that, in effect, does away with our borders with Mexico and Canada altogether. Regular readers of THE NEW AMERICAN know that this magazine has been warning that this direct assault on our nationhood was coming, that it is part and parcel of the NAFTA-CAFTA-FTAA process....

The New GOP Betrays America Diane Alden Thursday, Aug. 11, 2005 The biblical truth "Hope deferred makes the heart sick" described my state of mind on July 27, 2005. That was when the House Republican leadership stopped the clock on the CAFTA vote because they didn't like the way it was going. It gets more and more difficult to write about politics. The hope some of us placed in Republicans was misplaced. We had hope they might make a small attempt to lead this nation back to constitutional government: limited government. Hoping Republicans will be conservative, constitutional or less venal...

CAFTA not merely about free trade By LIZA GRANDIA GUEST COLUMNIST At 2,400 pages, the Central America Free Trade Agreement isn't really about trade. Frankly, you don't need 2,400 pages to eliminate tariffs and regulations on exports and imports. But you might need 2,400 pages to smuggle through a new set of transnational corporate rights disguised by complicated legalese. I wonder how many in Congress will even bother to read this trade tome before voting? I recall in 1994 that only one senator, Republican Hank Brown of Colorado, accepted Ralph Nader's challenge to win $10,000 for charity by taking a...