Changes

North America has also created a free trade zone (free from tariffs) with the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), which was never ratified by the Senate as a treaty but which Congress passed into law anyway.  NAFTA establishes international courts that have already been used to force the United States to open its borders to Mexican trucks, which are less safe than American ones.  The importation of drugs into the United States from Mexico has increased since NAFTA went into effect.

North America has also created a free trade zone (free from tariffs) with the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), which was never ratified by the Senate as a treaty but which Congress passed into law anyway.  NAFTA establishes international courts that have already been used to force the United States to open its borders to Mexican trucks, which are less safe than American ones.  The importation of drugs into the United States from Mexico has increased since NAFTA went into effect.

There are other free trade zones.  LAFTA is the Latin American Free Trade Agreement passed in 1961, and replaced in 1981 by the Latin American Integration Association (ALADI).  ALADI has not been very successful and therefore several Latin American countries decided to form new free trade zones.  The most successful free trade zone in Latin America is the South American Common Market (Mercosur) which has Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay and Venezuela as members.  Other trade zones in the Americas include the Andean Community, the Central American Common Market (CACM) and the Carribean Common Market (Caricom). These agreements are aimed at helping Latin American countries develop economic independence from foreign powers.  There is CAFTA, a recently enacted Central American Free Trade Agreement that the United States joined.  There is ASEAN, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, founded in 1967 by Indonesia, Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia and the Philippines to combat communism.  ASEAN signed trade agreements with Japan (1977) and the European Community (1980).  All these agreements and associations seek to reduce tariffs between member states and promote so-called “free trade.”

There are other free trade zones.  LAFTA is the Latin American Free Trade Agreement passed in 1961, and replaced in 1981 by the Latin American Integration Association (ALADI).  ALADI has not been very successful and therefore several Latin American countries decided to form new free trade zones.  The most successful free trade zone in Latin America is the South American Common Market (Mercosur) which has Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay and Venezuela as members.  Other trade zones in the Americas include the Andean Community, the Central American Common Market (CACM) and the Carribean Common Market (Caricom). These agreements are aimed at helping Latin American countries develop economic independence from foreign powers.  There is CAFTA, which was recently founded and includes Central America, the United States, and the Dominican Republic.  There is ASEAN, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, founded in 1967 by Indonesia, Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia and the Philippines to combat communism.  ASEAN signed trade agreements with Japan (1977) and the European Community (1980).  All these agreements and associations seek to reduce tariffs between member states and promote so-called “free trade.”

The promotion of “free trade” has many opponents.  Conservatives object to sending money to foreign countries and the resultant loss of American manufacturing jobs to near-slave labor in foreign countries.  A consequence of “free trade” is an increase in illegal drugs from foreign countries into the United States, often hidden within other goods.  Foreign countries, particularly China, have been putting cheaper but dangerous substitutes into goods that result in injuring Americans, including children and pets, who end up using them.  Many inside and outside the United States also object to a culture of “consumerism”, such that people are encouraged to buy more than what is healthy or necessary.  Brand names like McDonalds, Coca-Cola and Nike dominate television and the culture of teenagers.  “McDonaldization” is when American advertising (as in the case of McDonalds) has an influence on the world culture, causing distant children (like Chinese) to repeat a McDonald’s slogan they heard on television.  Parts of the left also oppose free trade, but for different reasons.  Unions object to their loss of jobs that result from “free trade,” as it is cheaper to have goods manufactured outside of all the expensive regulations and lawsuits that occur in the United States. Socialists around the world often like to equate globalism with the expansion of American influence, which is usually unfounded. Venezuela's president Hugo Chávez is currently one of the most noteworthy proponents of this claim.

The promotion of “free trade” has many opponents.  Conservatives object to sending money to foreign countries and the resultant loss of American manufacturing jobs to near-slave labor in foreign countries.  A consequence of “free trade” is an increase in illegal drugs from foreign countries into the United States, often hidden within other goods.  Foreign countries, particularly China, have been putting cheaper but dangerous substitutes into goods that result in injuring Americans, including children and pets, who end up using them.  Many inside and outside the United States also object to a culture of “consumerism”, such that people are encouraged to buy more than what is healthy or necessary.  Brand names like McDonalds, Coca-Cola and Nike dominate television and the culture of teenagers.  “McDonaldization” is when American advertising (as in the case of McDonalds) has an influence on the world culture, causing distant children (like Chinese) to repeat a McDonald’s slogan they heard on television.  Parts of the left also oppose free trade, but for different reasons.  Unions object to their loss of jobs that result from “free trade,” as it is cheaper to have goods manufactured outside of all the expensive regulations and lawsuits that occur in the United States. Socialists around the world often like to equate globalism with the expansion of American influence, which is usually unfounded. Venezuela's president Hugo Chávez is currently one of the most noteworthy proponents of this claim.