The Importance Of Fair Trade In Canada

Three years after the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) created the largest free trade area in the world, the debate rages on.

With trade increasing in Canada, on the one hand, it increases the demand for more people to do the work, which means that more people get a job and have more money to spend on goods that are imported from other countries. On the other hand, Canadian companies in different divisions from automotive, to energy, to agriculture(www.theglobeandmail.com) have to hire more people that are able to work because there are more products that should people to deal with between trade and with Canadian companies are becoming more profitable, it has more money to hire more people. For example, jobs are increased in the area of transportation in order to get the products to the stores. According to the fact, the agreement has helped produce over 1.8 million new jobs for Canadians at first 5 years of NAFTAs existence (www.nafta.ca). However, NAFTA makes huge damage for the Canadian automotive industry because with a stronger automotive union, every year will require higher wages, which slows process and makes it inflexible and expensive (www.international.gc.ca). Although NAFTA hurts the auto industry in Canada, it brings more benefits to Canada because it decrease the unemployment and improve the Canadian economy and condition of

In 1994, the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) was enacted between two industrial countries and a yet still developing nation. This was an agreement that was the first of its kind due to the relationship that the countries had and the investment opportunities that it presented. The United States, Canada, and developing Mexico decided to work towards eliminating most tariffs and non-tariff barriers between the three in order to increase the flow of trade in goods and services. Since its enactment NAFTA has led to the providing of over 40 million more jobs throughout the countries, and it has also tripled merchandise trade between the three participants to an astounding $946 billion USD in 2008 (NAFTA Now). However even then it is still not very clear whether enacting NAFTA was worth the time and effort and in fact the United States may have been better off not having joined NAFTA.

The North American Free Trade Agreement, commonly known as the NAFTA, is a trade agreement between the United States, Canada and Mexico launched to enable North America to become more competitive in the global marketplace (Amadeo, 2011). The NAFTA is regarded as “one of the most successful trade agreements in history” for its impact on increases in agricultural trade and investment among the three contracting nations (North American Free Trade Agreement, 2011). Supporters and opponents of the NAFTA have argued the effects of the agreement on participating nations since its inception; yet, close examination proves that NAFTA has had a relatively positive impact on the economies of the United States, Canada, and Mexico.

A trade quota is a restriction used in international trade to limit the amount or value of imported or exported goods during a specific period of time. It is a type of protectionism imposed by the government in order to regulate the volume of trade between countries. A current product with a trade quota that applies to Canadian imports is beef and veal. The imports from Non – Free Trade Agreement countries (Australia, Japan, New Zealand, and Uruguay) must have an import permit for beef and veal shipments to enter Canada, and the quantity allowed in is 76,409,000 kilograms. Exports of peanut butter from Canada execute a Trade Rate Quota subjected under Canada’s Export and Import Permits Act. Only the United States hold restrictions on Canada’s

Investopedia.com states, “free trade is the economic policy of not discriminating against imports from and exports to foreign jurisdictions. (Buyers and sellers from separate economies may voluntarily trade without the domestic government applying tariffs, quotas, subsidies or prohibitions on their goods or services.)” In the previous decade, one of the many controversial subjects in the Canadian economy included whether or not it was beneficial for our federal government to eradicate free trade or open it up to other nations. During my research, I discovered that free trade agreements between Canada and other nations were not as beneficial as they may have seemed for they were often business and market oriented.

NAFTA was established in 1992 and came into effect January 1st 1994. NAFTA was created to eliminate or reduce any tariffs between the three countries. It was formed to uphold greater trade between three countries "the increase in agricultural trade was doubled after the eight- to 12-year 'phase-in' period” (Grant, newswise). It promoted conditions of fair competitions, it also increased investment opportunities. NAFTA shows how free trade increases wealth and competitiveness,delivering real benefits to families, farmers, workers, manufacture and consumers. The impact of NAFTA on trade relations between Canada and the U.S. is more difficult to measure because the two countries had a free trade deal even before. NAFTA has helped boost agriculture flows between the two

According to Lyon, Bezaury, & Mutersbaugh (2010), Fair-trade is a “process which helps improve the well-being and economic stability of disempowered farmers, by using certified commodity-chains to foster development”. For the KHC company, Fair-trade is essential because they want to provide and endorse exceptional coffee beans that they are proud to use; that means, “using coffee that is good and fair for both our coffee drinkers and for farmers are essential” (Kicking Horse Coffee, n.d.). In fact, over the past 20 years, Kicking Horse won numerous awards in many categories, including Canada’s Fastest- Growing Companies, Canada’s Top Women Entrepreneurs, Canada's Favourite Fair-trade Product and number 15 Best Workplace in Canada (Kicking Horse Coffee, n.d.).

In my opinion, the top growth areas for Canada’s future trade are machinery including computers, electrical machinery and equipment, and aircraft /spacecraft. Essentially, I included all the industries that involve technology and the sciences because that is how civilization will advance. First of all, there are already predictions of what the future will hold with the advancement of technology, such as artificial intelligence, robots, and digital currency changes. For instance, we can already see how the internet, phones, and online banking has changed not only our lives but the potential of businesses. There was even a poll in the US, where 59% of Americans are optimistic about the coming technological and scientific changes, and how it

For every upside, there is a downside, and this certainly is the case for free trade in Canada. The successes listed above, also appeared in the United States and Mexico, which impacted our country. For every job that was created for them, some were lost elsewhere. Ontario, in result of jobs created elsewhere,:

In 1985, a report published by the Royal Commission on the Economic Union and Development Prospects of Canada recommended that Canada establish a free trade agreement with the United States (Quinlan, 318). Brian Mulroney took the advice and set foot to establish such an agreement. This lead to the creation of the Free Trade Agreement through the process of the Free Trade Debate. The Free Trade Debate has strengthened our economy and has reinforced our relationships with neighbouring countries. Therefore, the Free Trade Debate has positively impacted Canada into making Canada what it is today.

Canada has a free market economy. A free market economy allows people to freely buy, sell, and produce what they want, with limited government interaction. Canada is also split into four economic regions, Atlantic, Central and Eastern, the West, and the North. In the Atlantic Provinces, fishing is the major industry. Because of overfishing, however, the area has moved to manufacturing, mining, and tourism. In the Central and Eastern regions, the paper and lumber industry are important to the region. It is also the leading financial and industrial center. To the West, farming and ranching are major activities in the region. This area produces large amounts of wheat to export. They also have the world’s largest natural gas and oil reserves.

Canada, Mexico and the United States were all involved in NAFTA, the North American Free Trade Agreement. This agreement had really helped improve Canada’s economy and raised the standards of living in Canada. NAFTA had also proved itself to be a solid foundation to building Canada’s prosperity which is good for Canada’s independence as well (North, 1). After the free trade agreement, there were many positive effects in the Canadian economy. John F. Kerry, an American politician had once said, “NAFTA recognizes the reality of today's economy - globalization and technology.”(John, 1) This agreement states that Canada is helping in globalizing the economy of not only America but Canada and Mexico as well. In this case, the agreement is improving and benefiting the Canadian economy very well which is great for Canada's independence. It shows that Canada can make its own decisions with other countries to benefit their own country in many ways economic wise as well as independence wise. This also shows that although Canada and America are important trading partners, it doesn't necessarily mean that one country is a step behind the other. It means that if they work together, they can benefit each other and help improve one another's growth as

barriers were eliminated within ten years of the Act. A national treatment for member countries was adopted to liberalize trade services and investments. Performance requirements were removed, and dispute mechanism for investment conflicts were created. Protectionist issues emerged regarding progress in eliminating anti-dumping policies and persistent administered protection frameworks.5NAFTA did not substantially liberalize trade amongst all three counties in the agreement and fell short of its high expectations but it has certainly been a beneficial liberalizing force overall for Canadians. The North American Free Trade Agreement has been beneficial for Canada due its strengthening of relations with the United States, and increasing economic growth in our nation.

10. NAFTA is a ‘prototype’ of new generation ‘trade’ agreements, which address investor rights to challenge government regulations. The Sierra Club’s 2009 article on the environmental consequences of NAFTA gives an excellent summary of the criticisms of NAFTA, including those pertaining to the investor rights provisions of the treaty, at