Mark Milke The Benefits Of Nafta

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Both articles discuss what purpose The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) should serve. However, the authors have different views regarding NAFTA. I am analyzing the second article because I appreciate the way the author portrays NAFTA. The author, Mark
Milke, focuses on the benefits of the free trade agreement by using normative, positive, and analytical statements. These statements help him further the case he is making in his article.
Mark Milke shares his opinion that NAFTA talks should stick to helping consumers and taxpayers, not pet clauses. He states that free trade agreements like NAFTA have greatly benefited people. NAFTA came into effect creating one of the world’s largest free trade zones and laying the foundations for …show more content…

Otherwise, they risk cratering that which has benefitted entire populations, including their own”(Milke).
Milke writes to the general public to inform them of the benefits of NAFTA and to remind them of the point of free trade arrangements.
Over the years, the free trade agreement has accomplished a variety of things, which benefited many individuals. This idea is seen throughout Milke’s article. The free trade agreement has led to a dramatic increase in wealth and a significant decrease in the poverty level within North America. Milke uses statistics in his article to support this. “Those living in
Parsons 2 extreme poverty declined from 55 percent of the world’s population to 24 percent as of 2015.
Meanwhile, those living in extreme poverty (defined as living on one dollar a day or less, adjusted for inflation) declined from 44 per cent of the world’s population in 1981 to less than 10 per cent by 2015”(Milke). Not only did NAFTA decrease poverty in North America, it also lowered the prices for goods and services drastically helping consumers. The free …show more content…

This helped increase the United States GDP which then led to a growth in jobs.
“For NAFTA countries, free trade has been beneficial, not harmful, as the increase in employment demonstrates: 40 million more people are at work now in Canada, Mexico and the
United States as compared with 23 years ago at the start of NAFTA”(Milke). Milke analyzes the benefits of NAFTA by comparing past statistics to present day statistics. This is a very eye opening technique because it allows the reader to see how far the trade agreement has come.
There are many benefits for countries who seek trading. For one, trade reduces the the cost of living. “Countries that do engage in trade tend to have much higher prices for the goods and services available in their economies. Trade lowers trade barriers through negotiation and the result is reduced costs of production (because imports used in production are cheaper), reduced prices of finished goods and services, and more consumer choice”(“Principles of
Economics”). Milke does a good job explaining the benefits of NAFTA throughout his article.
However, he only discusses a few of the benefits. Therefore, discussing a couple more benefits of NAFTA would strengthen his case. In the article, Milke fails to include that trade