To the Editor:
The President is experiencing some severe difficulties regarding terrorism and foreign policy, but the North American Free Trade Agreement cannot be ignored because of its tremendous impact on our nation’s economy.
NAFTA has provisions in it for businesses in Mexico to comply with the same labor and environmental laws as that of the United States. I believe it is apparent this has never been enforced since its approval by Congress and former President Bill Clinton in 1994.
Hazardous waste is dumped on the ground by companies just across the Mexican border and wages continue at $1 or $2 an hour. Products are brought across our border at extremely low prices, which clearly violate the anti-dumping articles of NAFTA.
Enforcing NAFTA is a powerful economic stimulus package and could bring our nation’s unemployment rate down to less than 2 percent. With more people working and sharing the tax burden, we will gradually restore our lost surplus for the federal government as well as that of that of the states.
Inflation will be virtually nonexistent, Wall Street will boom, crime will be reduced, wages in Mexico will increase and, by the millions, Mexican workers will be able to buy consumer durable goods made in the good old USA.
Enforcing NAFTA will restore faith in our government.
The election of 2000 was close and I believe the reason was because neither President Bush nor Al Gore pledged allegiance to the American people promising to enforce NAFTA.
More surplus will enable us to afford combating terrorism.
Joe Mason
Salem, Ohio
