1. Is NAFTA good for everyone?
Looking at several viewpoints
2. Key Vocabulary
NAFTA
- North American Free Trade
Agreement - This agreement allows
Canada, the United States and Mexico
to trade freely without tariffs.
maquiladoras - Mexican factories built
on the border
consumers - people who buy goods
3. Making Connections
How do you think NAFTA and
maquiladoras are related to each other?
Why might business owners in the
United States move their factories to
Mexico?
4. American Business Owners
Do you think American business owners
would like NAFTA and maquiladoras?
Why or why not?
1. They can move their factories to Mexico
and ship the goods to the US with no tariffs.
2. They would not have to pay the workers in
Mexico as much as in the United States.
3. They would be able to sell their product for
cheaper, but still make a good profit.
5. Mexican Business Owner
Would Mexican business owners like NAFTA
and maquiladoras?
Why?
1.They probably would like NAFTA because
they would be able to trade freely.
2.They would not like foreign owned factories
because they would create competition.
6. Mexican Government
Would a Mexican Government official like
NAFTA and maquiladoras?
Why or why not?
1. NAFTA would be good for the economy of
Mexico.
2. Maquiladoras would provide jobs for
Mexicans, but the profit made by
maquiladoras would go back into the US
economy, not into Mexico’s.
3. Maquiladoras could hurt Mexican owned
businesses.
7. Mexican Factory Worker
Would
a Mexican factory worker like
NAFTA and maquiladoras?
Why or Why Not?
1. It would provide a job in a country
where there are not enough jobs.
2. However, the wages are very low and
the working conditions are not good.
8. American Factory Worker
Would
an American factory worker like
NAFTA and maquiladoras?
Why or why not?
1. Many American factory workers lose
their jobs because the owners move the
factories to Mexico. American factory
workers cannot move to Mexico to keep
their jobs.
9. Environmentalists
Would an environmentalist like NAFTA and
maquiladoras?
Why or why not?
1. Building factories creates pollution. An
environmentalist would want to make sure the
US, Canada, and Mexico all had laws to
protect the environment. Since all three
countries are neighbors, air pollution from
one affects them all.
10. American Consumer
Would
the American consumer like
NAFTA and maquiladoras?
Why or why not?
1. Goods made in Mexico would cost a
lot less because labor is cheaper there.
