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http://www.epinet.org/content.cfm/issuebriefs_ib120 ------------------------------------------------------------ (snip) ------------------------------------------------------------ Although NAFTA's adherents claimed the agreement would create new jobs, growing imports from Mexico and Canada have cost the U.S. more jobs than exports have generated. While increased exports to Mexico created 158,171 jobs, this growth was more than offset by the 385,834 jobs displaced by an increase in imports from Mexico. Similarly, increased exports to Canada generated 244,309 jobs, but these were dwarfed by 411,481 jobs displaced by Canadian imports. On the whole, imports from Mexico and Canada destroyed a gross total of 797,315 job opportunities. Net losses, after including the gains from exports, were 394,835 jobs. ------------------------------------------------------------ (snip) ------------------------------------------------------------ http://www.dollarsandsense.org/archives/2003/0103dollar.html ------------------------------------------------------------ (snip) ------------------------------------------------------------ Employment in virtually all U.S. manufacturing industries has declined since NAFTA went into effect. Counting jobs that actually left the United States plus those that would have been created if not for rising imports, EPI estimates that NAFTA caused a net loss of 440,000 U.S. jobs. In fact, during the 1990s, the overall U.S. trade deficit quadrupled, resulting in a net loss of 3 million jobs, according to EPI president Jeff Faux. ------------------------------------------------------------ (snip) ------------------------------------------------------------ http://www.ratical.org/co-globalize/NAFTA@7/mx.html ------------------------------------------------------------ (snip) ------------------------------------------------------------ Between 1991 and 1998, the share of workers in salaried[1] jobs with benefits fell sharply in Mexico. The compensation of the remaining self-employed workers, who include unpaid family workers as well as small business owners, was well above those of the salaried sector in 1991. By 1998, the incomes of salaried workers had fallen 25%, while those of the self-employed had declined 40%. At that point, the average income of the self-employed was substantially lower than that of the salaried labor force. This reflects the growth of low-income employment such as street vending and unpaid family work (for example, in shops and restaurants). After seven years, NAFTA has not delivered the promised benefits to workers in Mexico, and few if any of the agreement’s stated goals has been attained. ------------------------------------------------------------ (snip) ------------------------------------------------------------ http://www.networkideas.org/news/jan2004/news13_NAFTA.htm ------------------------------------------------------------ (snip) ------------------------------------------------------------ Certainly it is true that NAFTA has resulted in increased trade and investment flows within the region. Total trade among the NAFTA countries more than doubled between 1993 and 2002, growing much more rapidly than trade with countries outside the region. Foreign direct investment by NAFTA investors in the three countries jumped from $137 billion in 1993 to nearly $300 billion in 2000. However, this increase in trade and investment has not translated into commensurate income increases, especially for most workers, contrary to predictions. The gains have been concentrated among corporations, whose profits have increased manifold, and among favoured (typically urban) consumers with purchasing power. In each NAFTA country, the net effect upon workers as a whole has been negative. ------------------------------------------------------------ (snip) ------------------------------------------------------------ http://www.ratical.org/co-globalize/NAFTA@7/index.html ------------------------------------------------------------ (Snip) ------------------------------------------------------------ As the three reports in this paper indicate, from the point of view of North American working people, NAFTA has thus far largely failed. ------------------------------------------------------------ (snip)