Globalization
Globalization
Trade has been taking place for thousands of years. Starting with the bartering of animal skins, it has evolved to trade at a global scale. As a result of free trade as the United States trade policy, small businesses are competing with large multinational corporations across the earth. Free trade is the unhindered flow of goods from one county to another. No taxes, tariffs, nothing. The World Trade Organization (WTO), the International Monetary Fund (IMF), and World Bank (WB), are all organizations that have impact on globalization. The WTO is in charge of setting rules for the countries that are joined on this global trade system. The IMF keeps track of other countries economy to keep other nations informed on the countrys economic condition. The WB tries to reduce poverty around the world. The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and General Agreements on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) were both Treaties created to promote and expand the use of free trade. NAFTA was a treaty signed by the US, Canada, and Mexico, for complete free trade between those countries. GATT was formed to promote free trade between all nations. All of these organizations are great, but when it comes down to it, with free trade, there are winners, but there are more losers. Global trade does not provide an improved standard of living among all nations.
One thing that does not improve the standard of living in countries is the use of slave labor. 27 million people in many nations across the globe child and slave labor is being used. Thousands of people are in debt bondage. To pay off their debt they work, but the employer makes sure that their debt rises faster than they can work it off. The International Labor Organization estimates 8.4 million children are in this situation. Other enslaved peoples include chattel slaves. These salves are illegally owned and are bought and sold as property. This has been occurring in Mauritania for 800 years. In India children are kidnapped from the streets and hidden to weave carpets in small homes. These people, salves, are the ones that make free trade prosperous for other countries, by providing cheep goods with no added tariffs to other nations. Free trade is a good thing but its not worth it if the cost is many thousands of people and children being enslaved.
Although the United States economy has boosted through globalization, we are still losing
American jobs. Outsourcing is a problem with free trade. It costs less to make things over seas than it does here, and because there are no tariffs from these counties nothing stops companies