It is my opinion that many people who attack NAFTA-GATT often do so out of good principles but misunderstand the issues involved. Answer this: would the world economy really be better off if every country retreated behind a protectionist shell? If the U.S. were to suddenly deny entry of foreign goods into its markets would the income of workers in the third world increase or decrease? Should the U.S. really put all its resources into protecting steel mills-or should we be promoting production of high resolution TV's, building a modern train system across the country while investing in education for the new technological age? Marx himself recognized the importance of technological progress.

That said, I think there is room to criticize NAFTA and GATT as they currently stand. My view is that it makes a lot more sense to take the existing frameworks of NAFTA and GATT and move forward on integrating environmental and labor agreements into the treaties. If all the energy that had gone into opposing NAFTA and GATT had gone into lobbying for more environmental protection, more rights for labor, etc. we probably would have had a better treaty.

Instead, a lot of liberals and progressives (economists included) wound sounding like economic nationalists.

Sincerely,
Clifford S. Poirot Jr., Ph.D.
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