Globalization, according to the International Monetary Fund, is the “increasingly close international integration of markets both for goods and services and for capital” (Kegley Jr. and Wittkopf, 2004, p.267). Ten years ago, the U.S. signed the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) which eliminated trade tariffs between Mexico, the U.S., and Canada. The basis for this agreement was to stimulate the status of the economies of all three nations.

Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) is an extension of NAFTA to create the globe’s largest barrier-free trade zone, extending from Canada to Argentina. With the globalization of technology, anyone with a computer and the World Wide Web (WWW) can access information or buy goods from other countries in a matter of seconds. If the FTAA becomes a reality, businesses would be able to bring their products into more countries at a more affordable rate to the consumer, similar to the person on the WWW buying or selling products globally. With technology improving rapidly and becoming more and more available, globalization follows, becoming a permanent economic concept for countries and businesses to rely on.

Along with all of these negative effects NAFTA has had, the US trade surplus with Mexico has become a $16.2 million trade deficit (Unite Union. p.1). This is due to US companies moving their production to Mexico. Once US made products are now Mexican made and are now counting as US imports. This is because more Americans want to buy the least expensive and medium-grade quality products available, which now happen to be Mexican made. So, along with the job loss and wage decrease of workers in the US, the overall economy is suffering due to this trade deficit. If FTTA is as most analysts say, an extension of NAFTA, what is going to happen to the US economy when we expand trade to other Global South countries? The data would lead us to believe that if more US-based companies take their production to the Global South, more US jobs will be lost to cheaper wages in those countries, the trade deficit of the US would be even higher, and an increasing number of farmers in the US would be put out of work; along with the increasing exploitation of the environments in the Global South countries.

Globalization should have limits. Being able to communicate with, trade with, and help other countries does have great benefits for the US. By extending these ideas to agreements like NAFTA, however, more harm is done than good in the US economy and for US workers. There are too many internal problems with the US not to be concerned with helping US citizens first.

The other environmental effects that have occurred since NAFTA are the increased pollution in countries like Mexico. Along the US-Mexico border where maquiladoras have been set up, air-pollution and unsafe disposal of chemical wastes have increased. There have been noted effects of these increases, such as more occurrences of hepatitis and birth defects. The US is taking advantage of these countries because they do not have any laws set up to protect their environments.

Most Americans have little influence on decisions made involving NAFTA. Even though there have been motions to make the decisions involving the development of trade policy political issues, the “FTAA negotiations have been conducted without citizen input” (“Top Ten Reasons to Oppose the FTAA” p.1). This is putting the corporations’ rights above those of the citizens. In fact, NAFTA dispute panels rule on actions based on environmental and human rights concerns are illegal if they in some way obstruct the free movement of commerce (Glo

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