Other Countries Will Profit From Trade Pact
James Flanigan’s thoughtful piece on the pending free trade agreement with Canada and Mexico, “What U.S. Gains From Free Trade Pact” (Aug. 2), overlooked a possible consequence of the North American Free Trade Agreement that merits consideration.
U.S. employers will not be the only ones to see opportunity in relatively inexpensive Mexican manufacturing labor.
Other industrialized nations, most likely in Asia and Europe, will also invest in Mexico--not only to reap the profits generated by lower labor costs, but also to gain freer access to the U.S. market itself.
This will only intensify the challenges facing U.S. employers and workers in the global marketplace.
This makes all the more important the suggestion of several politicians, like House Majority Leader Richard A. Gephardt, that steps be taken to assist workers (and employers) in adjusting to a world economy brought even closer to home by the Free Trade Agreement.
MICHAEL A. BERNSTEIN
La Jolla
The writer is chairman of the history department at UC San Diego.
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