Topic: No Wires Attached: Reversing Cultural Limitations Imposed on Remotely Piloted Aircraft Pilots
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INTERNATIONAL_TRADE_LAWS.docx2
Running Head: International Trade Laws
INTERNATIONAL TRADE LAWS
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Introduction.
A democratic society is characterized by fundamental doctrines whereby people can exercise their power and rights. Notable aspects of a democratic society are, for example, freedom of speech where people can express themselves freely. Right to equality is another aspect of a democratic society where discrimination is a vice that could either be gender or racial discrimination. The type of administration which exists in a democratic society is formed using aspects found in a democratic society. A democratic government has representatives who are legitimately elected to represent the citizens, and their main agenda is to formulate and make laws which will help in running the government (Voon & Liberman, 2014).
Trade laws are part of the rules and regulations formed by legislators to help manage and regulate trade operations in local and foreign markets. The policies and strategies formulated must be able to promote sustainable economic development which meets the expectations of the ordinary citizens. Multilateral rules or agreements are described by the World Trade Organization as regulations agreed upon by three or more nations. The enhanced commerce treaties are meant to cut off tariffs to enhance more convenient mode of business operations (Saggi & Yildiz, 2011). Countries under the common trade agreements can regulate their imports and exports throughout the world through the trade agreements which in many cases are hard to develop or negotiate.
However, bilateral agreements are more comfortable to formulate and implement since they only involve only two states or countries. Thus, examining various benefits of trade agreements, it is evident that fairness is manifested in multilateral negotiations. Policy measures formulated are well researched and discussed before they can be put in place for implementation. The involved states also get a chance to boost their trade operations, and it has been observed that developed countries in most cases had the opportunity to benefit from these agreements (Pomfret, 2008). Fair participation is crucial, and also companies from countries in trade deals benefit from low tariffs established by the agreement.
In this case, standardization is established to regulate or harmonize policies put in place for fair trading. A detailed approval process enables participating parties to keenly analyze the proposed trade deals thus laying a platform to raise any queries and allow rectification of relevant policies. However, these trade deals have their disadvantages, for instance, the complex nature of the trade agreements. Negotiating trade agreement is time-consuming, and at times they fail after a long duration of negotiations (Park, 2001). Misunderstandings regarding trade by civil organizations such as the media raise unnecessary controversies from a trade deal. Political challenges also arise from a trade deal which should only be meant for business purposes. Misunderstanding hence makes it quite difficult to formulate strategies that will subsequently enhance suitable commerce agreement.
A notable disadvantage of commerce deals among several countries could be due to the establishment of the trade agreement. Giant companies which are internationally based often creates stiff competition such that the upcoming companies are unable to keep up. The consequences suffered by small companies are lethal and often results in a high rate of unemployment. Regional trade agreements are defined as multilateral with the North America Free Trade Agreement is one of the most significant regional trade agreements which was formed in 1994. The trade agreement was established to smoothen trade operations between the United States, Canada, and Mexico (Villarreal and Fergusson, 2017). Therefore, the North America Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) forms our case study.
Description of NAFTA and its purpose.
NAFTA is a trade pact formed by the United States, Canada, and Mexico as previously indicated to ease business operations in the region. As a government policy, this trade pact created low tariffs and eliminated trade barriers on various services and business operations among the three countries. Formation of the trade block was motivated by the success of trade pacts in other parts of the world such as Europe Economic Community. The co-founders of NAFTA had a vision of creating trade bloc which will stimulate trade operations among member countries to establish a business-friendly environment (Kresl, 2005).
Purpose of forming NAFTA.
Instituted policies during the formation of NAFTA formation.
The government instituted strategies and policies have affected various states especially in regards to tariffs and trade agreement implementations. For example, the US faced great challenges regarding low wages in Mexico which could lead in the mass migration of job-seekers to the United States. Labor-market in the United States faced a potential threat which required immediate action (Villarreal and Fergusson, 2017). Proposed policies during the formation of NAFTA revolved around reduction of tariffs, trade levies also known as customs duties on imports and exports.
Instituted policies also proposed the elimination of trade barriers among the member countries. The recommended procedures were to be implemented for a short-term period while others were put in a long-term implementation plan. For example, policy on the abolishment of special tariffs was immediately performed. Implementation of this agreement gave a duty-free pass for manufactured products among the signatories. Member countries abolished or illegal taxation on goods with “National goods “status in various levels of government.
Members of NAFTA also implemented policy on intellectual property rights with the aim of protecting intellectual property from industrial theft. Another provision of NAFTA trade agreement was on designing a framework which will help in resolving investment conflicts among the member countries. The policy was to facilitate compensation process when a corporate or an independent investor sued a member country which has violated a trade agreement law. Extra agreements were formulated to take care of arising issues during the implementation stage of the trade pact. Further policies were designed to enhance access of companies from Canada and U.S to Mexican markets which had potential business opportunities.
Challenges Encountered the United States and Mexico in the Implementation of Policies and Strategies of NAFTA.
Formation of NAFTA produced mixed results which were anticipated by the member countries. Mexico, for example, enjoyed increased exports of its products. The increase attracted investment corporates from both Canada and the United States who invested in service industries such as banking and insurance. Mexico experienced increased imports with low tariffs. However, the Mexican trade benefit-situation was opposite in Canada and the United States. During the implementation of NAFTA trade policies, several policy weaknesses were identified. In the United States, a lot of jobs were lost due to the cheap labor market in Mexico. Production industries saw a golden chance of a competitive labor market in Mexico which helped in cutting production costs. However, American critics did not take the cheap-labor opportunity lightly as it led to the loss of jobs in the U.S (Villarreal and Fergusson, 2017).
Manufacturing industries in various states such as California, Texas and New York experienced huge job loss, and American citizens were unhappy. Traders involved motor vehicles, textiles, and electrical appliances relocated to Mexico due to the cheap labor market. Secondly, U.S wages were suppressed due to the relocation of critical industries in the manufacturing sector to Mexico. Some companies threated their workers of the possible relocation to Mexico to comply with low-wage strategy. Implementation of NAFTA policies extended its effects to Mexico.
In Mexico, farmers lost their jobs as giant companies from U.S and Canada were able to export farm products such as corn to Mexico. Low trade tariffs established and implemented by NAFTA made it easier for companies in America to transport farm products to Mexico. The competition was stiff for rural Mexicans which later saw subsidies enjoyed by Mexican farmers from their government reduce to a considerable percentage. To keep up with competition, Mexican workers had to use a large number of fertilizers and other farm implements to boost their production. Artificial farm implements led to the deterioration of the environment within the country
Exploitation of Maquiladora workers was also experienced in America after the implementation of NAFTA policies. The Maquiladora program allowed Companies in various states of America to employ workers from the Mexican border. The cheap labor market in Mexico made it easy for American companies involved in products to enjoy cheap labor because the Mexicans working for American companies were unaware of their labor rights. Mexican workers had long working hours in hostile working environments which were identified as a risk to their health. Heavy use of farm chemicals increased both air and soil pollutions as compared to the period before implementation of NAFTA. Deforestation also occurred in Mexico, and large portions of vegetation and forest land were cleared which led to environmental hazards.
NAFTA guiding policies and strategies implementation have made countries such as the United States to reconsider negotiations. In January 2017, U.S president Donald Trump called for NAFTA re-negotiations and the likelihood of the state withdrawing itself from the trade pact. Trump reasons for re-negotiating trade deals was to help America increase job opportunities by restoring manufacturing industries (Villarreal and Fergusson, 2017). The results of President Donald Trump move brought tension among the member countries involved in the trade pact. In a specific event, Trump expressed his concern on the imposition of imports custom duties on Canadian steel and aluminum industry. The two countries disagreed on that move which caused a potential trade war.
Conclusion.
NAFTA has managed to champion significant trade interest for its members by a reduction in tariffs and eliminating trade barriers among the three countries. The trade pact has also fulfilled its purpose in creating a fair competition platform by creating strategies which will help in the resolution of trade disputes. However, the trade agreement has its setbacks which made member countries such as the United States feel unsatisfied especially by policies governing exports and imports operations. Need for re-negotiations on trade agreement terms has found its way as a priority by the member countries’ leaders. Despite the above challenges, NAFTA remains one the successful trade blocks in the world.
References.
Boskin, M. J. (Ed.). (2014). NAFTA at 20: the North American Free Trade Agreement's
achievements and challenges. Hoover Institution Press.
Kresl, P. (2005). NAFTA and Its Discontents. International Journal, 60(2), 417. doi: 10.2307/40204299
Park, S. (2001). IMPACT OF THE NORTH AMERICAN FREE TRADE AGREEMENT ON THE U.S. TRADE WITH MEXIC Boateng, S. (2014). The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) -- An Exposs. SSRN
Pomfret, R. (2008). Trade Policy for the 1990s: Multilateralism or Bilateralism? SAIS Review, 8(1), 121-135. doi: 10.1353/sais.1988.0022
Saggi, K., & Yildiz, H. (2011). Bilateral Trade Agreements and the Feasibility of Multilateral Free Trade. Review Of International Economics, 19(2), 356-373. doi: 10.1111/j.1467-9396.2011.00952.x
Villareal, M., & Fergusson, I. F. (2017). The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).
Voon, T., Mitchell, A., & Liberman, J. (2014). International trade law. In Regulating Tobacco, Alcohol and Unhealthy Foods (pp. 102-125). Routledge.
