FREE TRADE FACTS
Thanks for Listening
The Free Trade Mandate
- More than 50% of Canadians appeared to oppose the FTA, indicated by popular vote
- Conservatives won 169/295 seats
- Mulroney became the first conservative Prime Minister to win back-to-back majority governments since Sir John A. MacDonald, more than 100 years earlier
- The FTA was passed on December 30, 1988 and took effect January 1, 1989
NAFTA Debate
Maude Barlow
- One of the founders of COC
- Senior advisor on women's issue for Trudeau government
- Co-founder哦of Blue Planet Project
- Director of the International Forum on Globalization
- Wrote more than 15 books
- Received numerous awards for promoting social justice哦发
- Takes Affect: Jan 1st, 1994:
- Tariff-Free trade
- No quota limits on imports
- Equal access to natural resources
- Provision
- NAFTA council handles debates
Support
Opposition
- U.S. Can trade is $300 billion
- If U.S. Mexico sign a deal, Canada will be Economically disadvantaged as compared if Canada signed NAFTA
- 390 million people with 31% of world's wealth in N.A. Trade bloc
(largest in the world)
- Canada can be an access point to N.A. Bloc
- Increase of purchasing power for North Americans (more business means competition)
- Canada Mexico trade is only: $3 billion
- U.S. will find it in their advantage to take advantage of Canada
- Cheaper Mexican Labour wages = Cheaper Canadian Labour wages
- Lower Environment Standards of other countries may effect Canadian Environment Standards
- Opening market means Canadian Businesses will be disadvantaged by Public Programs
Free Trade Debate
Arguments For & Against FTA
Free Trade Agreement 1987
For:
- Economic growth
- Total world output and standard of living
- Lower prices
- More peaceful relationships between countries
- Variety of products
In 1985, the Mulroney government started to negotiate with the US again, about Free Trade.
In October 1987, the Free Trade Agreement was met.
In 1988, a federal election was called. The Liberals and the New Democratic Party were against the FTA, as well as labour unions. A new group, the Council of Canadians was formed specifically to oppose the Free Trade Agreement.
- Elimination of Tariffs: tariffs on goods and services would be lifted f
-Dispute settlement mechanism: members from each country will help settle disputes about trade
- Investment: reduced restriction on American investment in Canada, Canada still has to approve takeovers in cultural takeovers
- Energy: Canada cannot restrict the sales of energy resources to the United States
- Agriculture: the elimination of tariffs on agricultural products and processed foods
Against:
- Production shifts
- Benefit larger corporations
- threatens publicly supported programs
- Canada's ability to protect cultural industries limited
- Foreign corporations branched in Canada moving to their countries
- threatens political independence
- production move to areas with lower work standards