Paper Name
LOS ANGELES TIMES
Free Trade Areas of the Americas (FTAA), is the elimination of trade barriers and uniting all free economies member countries. The member countries include Antigua & Barbuda, Argentina, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Bolivia, Brazil, Canada, Colombia, Chile, Costa Rica, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Grenada, Guatemala, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent & The Grenadines, Suriname, Trinidad & Tobago, United States, Uruguay, and Venezuela (Barlow, 2001). The free trade areas were established to cater for the in the lower class in the society. The free trade area will ensure food security for the community, better health care and proper social ammenities such as water and education. Any new policy must have some form of opposition. Free trade area, being as good as it is, has faced considerable opposition and this paper will seek to oppose the different views published on the opinion editorial coloumn within the Los Angeles Times.
Unemployment is caused by a rigid market. With the free trade in place, there will be increased competition. Increased competition will increase innovation and this will lead to the widening of the services to be provided and consequently the market to be served. With the newly established markets, more employment opportunities will be created. Better paying jobs will soon follow. This will solve the problem of unemployment.
The free trade agreement also seeks to conserve the environment. The free trade agreement is built in line with theUnited Nations Environmental Programs guidelines. It will foster the maximisation of resources. In an ecosystem where there is a balance between the preys and predators, there is a high likelihood that there will better products. Take an example of lions and antelopes in the jungle. When the number of lions exceeds that of antelopes, there will be an extinction of antelopes. If the number is balanced, there will be a balance in the ecosystem. When the UNEP guidelines strictly adhered by the member nations, only the surplus will be sold to foreign markets. Again the formation of cooperatives will lead to environment conservation.
Free trade will only affect family farmers who have not started using technology in their farming methods. Family farmers who have made use of technology can withstand the competition brought about by multinational companies. To begin with, family farmers have an upper hand since they own large tracks of land. Their only headache will be to get quality seeds. Multinational companies, on the other hand, have to source for land and this will be nearly impossible for them to acquire communally owned land. If any family decides to sell their land, then they should blame themselves and not the free trade.
Consumers are the highest beneficiaries of free trade. There will no jeopardization of consumers since there will be competition. The competition will translate to cheaper goods and better services. Cheaper goods and better services all work in favour of the consumers. In fact, with increased invention and innovation, there will be a wider pool of choices for the consumers.
On the use of genetically modified organisms, it is the time that all nations embraced this new technology. GMOs are just a combination of better parts of an organism to form one. Take an example of a mango tree. A GMO of a mango tree can be formed by combining a drought-withstanding root and high yielding shoot. The governments of poor countries should make it their initiative to subside the prices of GM seeds for the benefit of the farmers. With good farming practices, these nations will have a constant food supply. GMOs cannot be condemned because one cannot afford them. Research carried out have shown more benefits than the risks of using the GMOs.
The main of free trade is to eliminate trade barriers to ease the movement of goods and services. Free trade has enabled the movement of cheaper goods to a nation. This movement of cheaper goods enables a country to identify its areas of strength and invest fully in such areas. This will reduce wastages in areas they are not doing well by importing cheaper goods and thereby saving the nation a lot of funds.
Privatization of essential services is imminent with or without free trade due to the need of better services which are most likely not offered by the government. Free trade cannot be condemned by the mere fact that it will lead to privatization of essential services. The involved governments should come up with proper legislations to control such activities including the charges of services rendered. Sometimes, privatization can also be done by cooperatives which is far much better than the government since such cooperatives understand the needs of their society more than the government does.
Despite all the highlighted benefits of free trade, lack of citizen participation cannot be ignored. The policy makers should take into consideration so that they can contain the disquiet among the parties opposing free trade.
In conclusion, no nation can survive by itself as no human being can survive by themselves. Free trade is a just elimination of the boundaries the citizen of any nation imposes on themselves thereby limiting their benefits. Free trade will increase unity among nations and reduce wars among nations. Citizens of trading nations will view themselves as one. It is the time we viewed things on the positive and not always on the negative.
Works cited.
Barlow, Maude. The Free Trade Area of the Americas: Grain, 2001. Web. 29 April 2014.
