On December 8th, 1993, Bill Clinton signed the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) into law.
In his remarks at the signing, Clinton proclaimed, “NAFTA means jobs. American jobs and good-paying American jobs. If I didn't believe that, I wouldn't support this agreement.”
Two decades after NAFTA had been in effect (1993 - 2013) the Economic Policy Institute reported that over 850,000 American jobs had been moved abroad.
Why? Because American companies gladly moved jobs to Mexico where the daily wage of a Mexican worker was roughly equivalent to the minimum wage per hour in the U.S.
Especially in the business world, we take for granted that the global spread of capitalism (fueled by free trade agreements like NAFTA) has increased the quality of life for all by expanding participation in the market, often through jobs.
But, there’s essential nuance here that’s been overlooked.
Not all jobs are good jobs and trade is not good for trading’s sake.
Eric Henry, President of TS Designs, a large volume screen printing company based in Burlington, North Carolina, like many many other U.S.-based businesses was forced to reinvent his business anew after bearing the brunt of NAFTA’s impact.
In this podcast, we’ll share Eric’s experience, explore the wider implications and context of NAFTA and globalization, and offer a vision for what a post-race-to-the-bottom world might look like.
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