Regional Trading Agreements

SEQUENCE 3 – Regional Trading Agreements (RTAs)

• Text page 64
• Cartoon page 65
• Chart page 65

4) To what extend does this cartoon counterbalance document 2 ?

Document 2 and 3 are clearly opposed, in that (en ce qu’il) the text is about the advantages of RTAs for the US and Mexico whereas the cartoon shows the negative effects of free trade on american workers (or on american employees).

The cartoon, indeed, shows us that american people both blue and white collars/ from all professions/ from all social classes are demonstrating (=manifester) against NAFTA, a RTA. They are holding a banner on which « WE WANT OUR JOBS BACK » is written., as we can see in the foreground. In doing so, they are denouncing the loss of jobs in the US because of NAFTA. They feel that their jobs are being relocated to low wages countries like Mexico and China where the satndard of living lower. They refuse social dumping and also ask for a return of protectionism. On the other hand/ however document 2 shows us that some 14 million jobs depend on NAFTA in such economic areas as trade with Mexico and Canada. Indeed, low skilled jobs have suffered from relocations but the positive aspects of free trade have been felt in other layers of the socio-economic developed world, as we can see with the very low unemployment rate in the US.

In fact, it is difficult to proove whether (=si) NAFTA/RTAs create(s) or detroys jobs but it is obvious/ evident that they have boosted the world economy as can be seen with the explosion of RTAs in the past few decades.