History of the North American Free Trade Agreements

A free trade agreement is a pact between two countries or areas in which they both agree to lift most or all tariffs, quotas, special fees and taxes, and other barriers to trade between the entities. The purpose of free trade agreements is to allow faster and more business between the two countries/areas, which should benefit both. Why All Should Benefit from Free Trade The underlying economic theory of free trade agreements is that of comparative advantage, which originated in an 1817 book entitled On the Principles of Political Economy and Taxation by British political economist David Ricardo. Put simply, the theory of comparative advantage postulates that that in a free marketplace, each country/area will ultimately specialize in that activity where it has comparative advantage (i.e. natural resources, skilled workers, agriculture-friendly weather, etc.) The result should be that all parties to the pact will increase their income. However, as Wikipedia points out: ... the theory refers only to aggregate wealth and says nothing about the distribution of wealth. In fact there may be significant losers... The proponent of free trade can, however, retort that the gains of the gainers exceed the losses of the losers. Claims that 21st Century Free Trade Doesnt Benefit All Critics from both sides of the political aisle contend that free trade agreements often dont work effectively to benefit either the U.S. or its free trade partners. One angry complaint is that more than three million U.S. jobs with middle-class wages have been outsourced to foreign countries since 1994. The New York Times observed in 2006: Globalization is tough to sell to average people. Economists can promote the very real benefits of a robustly growing world: when they sell more overseas, American businesses can employ more people. But what sticks in our minds is the television image of the father of three laid off when his factory moves offshore. Latest News In late June 2011, the Obama administration announced that three free trade agreements,.. with south Korea, Colombia and Panama... are fully negotiated, and ready to send to Congress for review and passage. These three pacts are expected to generate $12 billion in new, annual U.S. sales. Republicans stalled approval of the agreements, though, because they want to strip a small, 50-year-old worker retraining/support program from the bills. On December 4, 2010, President Obama announced completion of renegotiations of the Bush-era U.S.-South Korea Free Trade Agreement. See Korea-U.S. Trade Agreement Addresses Liberal Concerns. The deal that weve struck includes strong protections for workers rights and environmental standards--and as a consequence, I believe its a model for future trade agreements that I will pursue, commented President Obama about the U.S.-South Korea agreement. (see Profile of U.S.-South Korea Trade Agreement.) The Obama administration is also negotiating an entirely new free trade pact, the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), which includes eight nations: U.S., Australia, New Zealand, Chile, Peru, Singapore, Vietnam and Brunei. Per AFP, Nearly 100 US companies and business groups have urged Obama to conclude TPP negotiations by November 2011. WalMart and 25 other U.S. corporations have reportedly signed onto the TPP pact. Presidential Fast-Track Trade Authority In 1994, Congress let fast-track track authority to expire, to give Congress more control as President Clinton pushed the North American Free Trade Agreement. After his 2000 election, President Bush made free trade the center of his economic agenda, and sought to regain fast-track powers. The Trade Act of 2002 restored fast-track rules for five years. Using this authority, Bush sealed new free trade deals with Singapore, Australia, Chile and seven smaller countries. Congress Unhappy with Bush Trade Pacts Despite pressure from Mr. Bush, Congress refused to extend fast-track authority after it expired on July 1, 2007. Congress was unhappy with Bush trade deals for many reasons, including: Losses of millions of U.S. jobs and companies to foreign countriesExploitation of labor forces and resources and defilement of the environment in foreign countriesThe enormous trade deficit generated under President Bush International charity organization Oxfam vows to campaign to defeat trade agreements that threaten peoples rights to: livelihoods, local development, and access to medicines. History The first U.S. free trade agreement was with Israel, and took effect on September 1, 1985. The agreement, which has no expiration date, provided for the elimination of duties for goods, except for certain agricultural products, from Israel entering the U.S. The U.S.-Israeli agreement also allows American products to compete on an equal basis with European goods, which have free access to Israeli markets. The second U.S. free trade agreement, signed in January 1988 with Canada, was superceded in 1994 by the complex and controversial North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) with Canada and Mexico, signed with much fanfare by President Bill Clinton on September 14, 1993. Active Free Trade Agreements For a complete listing of all international trade pacts to which the U.S. is a party, see the United States Trade Representives listing of global, regional and bilateral trade agreements. For a listing of all worldwide free trade pacts, see Wikipedias List of Free Trade Agreements. Pros Proponents support U.S. free trade agreements because they believe that: Free trade increases sales and profits for U.S. businesses, thus strenghtening the economyFree trade creates U.S. middle-class jobs over the longtermFree trade is an opportunity for the U.S. to provide financial help to some of the worlds poorest countries Free Trade Increases U.S. Sales and Profits Removal of costly and delaying trade barriers, such as tariffs, quotas and conditions, inherently leads to easier and swifter trade of consumer goods. The result is an increased volume of U.S. sales. Also, use of less expensive materials and labor acquired through free trade leads to a lower cost to manufacture goods. The result is either increased profit margins (when sales prices are not lowered), or increased sales caused by lower selling prices. The  Peterson Institute for International Economics estimates  that ending all trade barriers would increase U.S. income by a whopping $500 billion annually. Free Trade Creates U.S. Middle-Class Jobs The theory is that as U.S. businesses grow from greatly increased sales and profits, demand will grow for middle-class higher-wage jobs to facilitate the sales increases. In February, the  Democratic Leadership Council, a centrist, pro-business think-tank headed by Clinton ally former Rep. Harold Ford, Jr., wrote: Expanded trade was undeniably a key part of the high-growth, low-inflation, high-wage economic expansion of the 1990s; even now it plays a key role in keeping inflation and unemployment at historically impressive levels. The  New York Times wrote  in 2006: Economists can promote the very real benefits of a robustly growing world: when they sell more overseas, American businesses can employ more people. U.S. Free Trade Helps Poorer Countries U.S. free trade benefits poorer, non-industrialized nations through increased purchases of their materials and labor services by the U.S. The  Congressional Budget Office explained: ... economic benefits from international trade arise from the fact that countries are not all the same in their production capabilities. They vary from one another because of differences in natural resources, levels of education of their workforces, technical knowledge, and so on. Without trade, each country must make everything it needs, including things it is not very efficient at producing. When trade is allowed, by contrast, each country can concentrate its efforts on what it does best... Cons Opponents of U.S. free trade agreements believe that: Free trade has caused more U.S. jobs losses than gains, especially for higher-wage jobs.Many free trade agreements are bad deals for the U.S. Free Trade Has Caused U.S. Jobs Losses A  Washington Post columnist wrote: While corporate profits soar, individual wages stagnate, held at least partly in check by the brave new fact of offshoring -- that millions of Americans jobs can be performed at a fraction of the cost in developing nations near and far. In his 2006 book Take This Job and Ship It, Sen. Byron Dorgan (D-ND) decries, ... in this new global economy, no one is more profoundly affected than American workers... in the last five years, weve lost over 3 million U.S. jobs that have been oursourced to other countries, and millions more are poised to leave. NAFTA: Unfilled Promises and a Giant Sucking Sound When he signed NAFTA on September 14, 1993,  President Bill Clinton exulted, I believe that NAFTA will create a million jobs in the first five years of its impact. And I believe that that is many more than will be lost... But industrialist H. Ross Perot famously predicted a giant sucking sound of U.S. jobs heading to Mexico if NAFTA was approved. Mr. Perot was correct.  Reports the Economic Policy Institute: Since the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) was signed in 1993, the rise in the U.S. trade deficit with Canada and Mexico through 2002 has caused the displacement of production that supported 879,280 U.S. jobs. Most of those lost jobs were high-wage positions in manufacturing industries. The loss of these jobs is just the most visible tip of NAFTAs impact on the U.S. economy. In fact, NAFTA has also contributed to rising income inequality, suppressed real wages for production workers, weakened workers  collective bargaining  powers and ability to organize unions, and reduced fringe benefits. Many Free Trade Agreements Are Bad Deals In June 2007, the Boston Globe reported about a pending new agreement, Last year, South Korea exported 700,000 cars to the United States while U.S. carmakers sold 6,000 in South Korea, Clinton said, attributing more than 80 percent of a $13 billion U.S. trade deficit with South Korea... And yet, the proposed new 2007 agreement with South Korea would not eliminate the barriers that severely restrict the sale of American vehicles per Sen. Hillary Clinton. Such lopsided dealings are common in  U.S. free trade agreements. Where It Stands U.S. free trade agreements have also harmed other countries, including: Workers in other countries are being exploited and harmed.The environment in other countries is being defiled. For example, the  Economic Policy Institute explains  about post-NAFTA Mexico: In Mexico, real wages have fallen sharply and there has been a steep decline in the number of people holding regular jobs in paid positions. Many workers have been shifted into subsistence-level work in the informal sector... Additionally, a flood of subsidized, low-priced corn from the U.S. has decimated farmers and rural economics. The impact on workers in countries as India, Indonesia, and China has been even more severe, with innumerable instances of starvation wages, child workers, slave-labor hours and perilous work conditions. And  Sen. Sherrod Brown  (D-OH) observes in his book Myths of Free Trade: As the Bush administration has worked overtime to weaken environmental and food safety rules in the U.S., Bush trade negotiators are trying to do the same in the global economy... The lack of international laws for environmental protection, for example, encourages firms to go to the nation with the weakest standards. As a result, some nations are conflicted in 2007 over U.S. trade deals. In late 2007, the  Los Angeles Times reported  about the pending CAFTA pact: About 100,000 Costa Ricans, some dressed as skeletons and holding banners, protested Sunday against a U.S. trade pact they said would flood the country with cheap farm goods and cause big job losses. Chanting No to the free-trade pact! and Costa Rica is not for sale! protesters including farmers and housewives filled one of San Joses main boulevards to demonstrate against the Central American Free Trade Agreement with the United States. Democrats Divided on Free Trade Agreements Democrats have coalesced in favor of trade policy reform over the past decade as President Bill Clintons NAFTA, WTO and China trade deals not only failed to deliver the promised benefits but caused real damage, said Lori Wallach of Global Trade Watch to  Nation contributing editor Christopher Hayes. But the centrist  Democratic Leadershp Council insists, While many Democrats find it tempting to Just Say No to Bush trade policies... , this would squander real opportunities to boost U.S. exports... and keep this country competitive in a global marketplace from which we cannot possibly isolate ourselves.

Doctors and Facebook Is There a Privacy Risk - 807 Words

Q1. Describe one key legal issue and one key ethical issue that concern most organizations as they seek to take full advantage of the Internet. Concerns about patient confidentiality in the age of e-medicine motivated Congress to pass the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). Organizations must put in place safeguards to protect patient information, such as encrypting patient data that is stored online and they must reasonably limit uses and disclosures to the minimum necessary to accomplish their intended purpose (For consumers, 2012, Health information privacy). Organizations must train employees how to follow appropriate procedures to protect patient heath information and ensure that they have contracts with outside entities to limit the inappropriate use of patient data. A major goal of the Privacy Rule is to assure that individuals health information is properly protected while allowing the flow of health information needed to provide and promote high quality health care and to protect the publics health and well being (Summary of the HIPAA privacy rule, 2012, HHS). Legally, patient data must be protected by the organization. However, there is also an ethical responsibility that healthcare providers protect patient privacy in their personal online interactions. Doctors with a Facebook profile could be jeopardizing their relationship with patients if they dont correctly use the websites privacy settings, according to a study in theShow MoreRelatedThe Impact Of Technology On The Technology Field1421 Words   |  6 Pagespotentially bring in a societal context? Privacy issues are already extremely prevalent, recently Apple iCloud was hacked and hundreds of celebrity s private images were released onto the internet. 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Price discrimination in the English premier league free essay sample

Many scholars have described football as a global game or as a global language. In my opinion, football is the easiest sport to be part of in the world. Every child from different class groups is eager to play football, whether it is on the streets or on a world-class field with amazing equipment. As a child you do not see the economic side of football. You just want to play the game and it becomes a part of your livelihood. As you grow older, things get clearer in your mind and you start analyzing the impact it has in the economy. For many years, the world cup has brought jewels of wealth to the economy due to mass participation. â€Å"It gives them an opportunity to offer foreigners a window into their world and stimulate the development of football domestically. † (Szymanski, S. 2002). There is always a hope that the World Cup would bring substantial economic growth to the host nation that has generally struggled for the past decade. The 2002 World Cup in South Korea is a very good example of how economic growth can occur during and after the World Cup. In various countries, the football clubs that exist have caused a significant change of economic structure. When Roman Abramovich, Russian billionaire and major shareholder of a private investment company Millhouse LLC, took over Chelsea football club, he transformed them into one of the top teams in the world. Even with all the considerable amounts of luxury football clubs have from private owners, there is still always two sides to a coin. Football player’s wages in the premier league are enormous, even after the economic gloom and inflation gripping Britain. There has been a disproportionate raise in ticket prices of various English premiership clubs that has lead to price discrimination to the loyal and passionate fans of football. Due to the popularity of the English premier league, there has been an increasing demand of spectators. The clubs are forming a monopoly by exploiting the loyal supporters. The burden of such financial responsibility has shifted from the club’s owner to the pocket of the helpless supporters by selling higher ticket prices and clothing merchandises. The regular supporters will do anything to watch their team play every weekend, even if they have to pay a higher amount on the tickets. â€Å"The various clubs outline the importance of maximizing potential revenues by avoiding, wherever possible, the prospect of the unsold seat. The consequent dilemma facing the Premier League clubs is to ensure that the nature of pricing match tickets equates to the clubs’ financial requirements and the supporters’ overall satisfaction. †(Clowes, J. And Clem, N. 2003). Figure 3 examines the contrasting season ticket prices depending on the location of the stand. It highlights that only four clubs have â€Å"significant† price discrimination while the rest of the clubs are reasonably high. Also, figure 5 audits the variation in the price on match day tickets for various locations in the â€Å"main stand. † The graph portrays the maximum price discrimination by differentiating between â€Å"the maximum premium charged by each club based on the lowest ticket price and highest match day ticket price within the main stand. † (Clowes, J. And Clem, N. 2003). For example, Chelsea FC charges the highest price discrimination of 37 pounds in comparison to other clubs in the English premier league. â€Å"They reported that a 1% increase generated on average an 11% profit increase among the 2000 companies they studied in the premier league. †(Clowes, J. And Clem, N. 2003). â€Å"Bird found a (real) price elasticity of demand of -0. 2 and an income elasticity of -0. 6 for the period 1948 to 1975, showing that football was price-inelastic and an inferior good. † (Simmons, R. 1996). Home and away fans tend to â€Å"dominate† attendances in a football game while neutral supporters tend to be the â€Å"minorities. † The price discrimination varies due to the popularity and the success of that particular club. Fans may simply not attend due to the poor performances in the league and other domestic tournaments (FA cup, carling cup, etc. ). One of the biggest reasons for price discrimination is the high wages paid to many English premier league players. Football is a spectator’s sport and therefore, the clubs main revenue comes from the supporters and the television rights. â€Å"Much of this price increase has, perhaps, been fuelled by the price media companies have been prepared to pay to secure television rights to ensure access to this highly popular entertainment vehicle. †(Clowes, J. And Clem, N. 2003). Price discrimination has been â€Å"manifested† from the grass roots of the organizational level in the English football industry. Various clubs are willing to pay millions of pounds to secure the playing talents from other clubs in the world. In addition, it is foreseeable that the wages of these players will have to increase in order to retain their services for a longer duration or to persuade them from changing clubs. English premier league clubs must find a solution to reduce price discrimination before the loyal supporters turn their back on their team. It is vital to split the season ticket holders and the supporters who pay at the gate. This suggests that the â€Å"casual† supporters have greater price elasticity than the season ticket holders. Clubs in the premier league have different price bands on the bases of the opposition’s ability to play attractive football and also the history of the club. â€Å"The optimal pricing strategy must then weigh up the likely prospects for success, or failure, including the probability of relegation. For some clubs there is evidence of price-elastic demand from adjusted attendances and hence real price increases would lower revenue, ceteris paribus. † (Simmons, R. 1996). Tactics used by the sports organizations in the United States could be implemented in the English premier league. â€Å"Differential pricing is the core of a marketing- oriented approach to pricing professional sports. †(Howard, D. And Crompton J. 2007). Differential pricing works affectively when a market is comprised of â€Å"segment that have different demand characteristics. † It operates by charging different prices for the same service where the price differences and the cost differences are disproportional. If the clubs in the premier league charge different prices for different opponents by evaluating the opposition’s quality of football, time and place, the English premier league tickets will reduce significantly and the loyal supporters would live happily ever after.

Internship Report on Nestle free essay sample

It became Kit Kat in 1937, two years before the Second World War. Within two years of launch Kit Kat was established as Rowntrees leading product, a position that it has maintained ever since. During the Second World War Rowntree Kit Kat was seen as a valuable wartime food and advertising described the brand as What active people need. For most of its life Rowntree Kit Kat has appeared in the well-known red and white wrapper. It did, however, change to a blue wrapper in 1945, when it was produced with a plain chocolate covering due to a shortage of milk following the war. This blue packaging was withdrawn in 1947 when the standard milk chocolate Kit Kat was reintroduced. Polo and Fox candies are also well known and favorite products for refreshment. In Pakistan, Polo is now being imported from china after one year gap. Nestle Pakistan is producing Polo in china with lighter weight than before. We will write a custom essay sample on Internship Report on Nestle or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Fox candies are available in six different flavors, from which Nestle fruit Fox is the most saleable and demanding candy. Nestle means ‘little nest’ in Swiss German. Nestle first customer was a premature infant who could tolerate neither his mother’s milk nor any other conventional substitute. Thus, Henri’s ultimate goal was to help fight the problem of infant mortality due to malnutrition for which he developed a product combining various cow’s milk, wheat flour and sugar and name it Farine Lactee Nestle, which was the first product of Nestle being marketed in Europe. In 1974, Jules Monnerat purchased Nestle and collectively they launched a condensed milk product of its own. In 1905, Nestle got merged with Anglo-Swiss condensed milk. After some time, when Nestle got fully established and all its operation were properly functioning in Europe and was gaining fame around Europe, then Nestle decided to set up production plants around the globe to ensure the growth of the organization and to become multinational. The decision to set up industrial operation in new market needs a lot of research, as there are various factors that effect the growth of the organization and turns out to be a loss for the company. Such factors are as follows ? The availability of raw material ? Cost factor ? Economic climate ? Consumer purchasing power ? Consumer tastes The decision to become multinational turned fruitful for Nestle and today Nestle has its own operations and products in America, England, India, Brazil, Australia, Pakistan, Hungary, France, Belgium, Italy, Spain and various other countries around the globe. The history of Nestle includes the development of many different products as well as acquisitions, mergers and the purchasing of shares in companies, mainly abroad. Over the course of the years, this enabled it to broaden its range of products and diversify its operations, while at the same time strengthening the economic foundations of the company. Amongst the most important acquisitions were Carnation in Los Angeles (milk, culinary products and pet foods) and more recently Rowntree Mackintosh in York (chocolate and confectionery), Buitoni in Perugia (pasta) as well as Perrier in France(mineral water).