🚀 go-pugleaf

[ Article crossposted from alt.government.abuse,alt.politics.elections,alt.politics.media,alt.politics.usa.congress,alt.politics.usa.constitution,alt.politics.usa.misc,alt.politics.usa.republican,alt.society.conservatism,alt.society.sovereign,ca.news,ca.politics,alt.california ]
[ Author was Ray Domkus ]
[ Posted on Sat, 24 Feb 1996 03:09:01 GMT ]

NAFTA Impact Update

United We Stand America - January 1996

That giant `sucking sound' was heard loud and clear at the fall
meeting of the American Apparel Contractors Assn. Irwin Mistrock,
board chairman of AACA and president of Neely Industries, Inc.,
said  business was down 20 percent this year with 40 to 50 percent of
last  year's business either moving or already having gone overseas.
"NAFTA  and GATT have really hurt us.  We can no longer compete in
price" said  Misrock. October 31, 1995, Savannah Daily News Record
      
The North American Free Trade Agreement is two years old this month.
It is appropriate on this anniversary to review its progress and
revisit this agreement so hotly debated two years ago.
     
NAFTA supporters claim increased exports to Mexico and Canada when  in
reality this is misleading.  Our imports from both Mexico and Canada
are growing at a faster rate than are U.S. exports to those countries.
Imports from Mexico between 1993 to 1995 increased 51 percent while
U.S. exports to Mexico grew only by 8 percent for the same period.
The $5.7 billion dollar trade surplus with Mexico in 1992 has eroded
into an anticipated trade deficit  in 1995 of $16 billion.
     
NAFTA proponents claimed increased exports to Mexico and Canada  would
support the creation of some 3 million U. S. Jobs.  Companies such as
Allied Signal, General Electric, Proctor and Gamble, Mattel,  Scott
Paper, Zenith and many more made specific promises to create jobs but
in fact many have laid off workers because of NAFTA. The most  current
figures indicate the Department of Labor has certified 49,000  workers
as having lost their jobs to NAFTA and a total of 80,000 workers have
filed to receive NAFTA related unemployment assistance through the
NAFTA unemployment assistance program (NAFTA-TAA). 

According to a study completed in September 1995 by Public Citizen's
Global Trade Watch, NAFTA is not creating the promised new jobs but in
fact at least 300,000 U.S. jobs have been lost.  According to the
administration's equation, $1 billion in exports equals 19,000 jobs.
Therefore, with a trade deficit of $16 billion in 1995 with Mexico,
the resulting job loss computes to 304,000 Americans out of work
because of NAFTA.
     
The maquiladora industries in Mexico along the U.S./Mexico border,
according to NAFTA predictions, was supposed to decrease and
eventually disappear. In reality, however, the maquiladora industry
has increased some 20% more employees since December 1993.  This has
added to the concern for the substandard environmental and health
conditions in the border area.
     
In the past three months there has been an increased political
awareness of the negative effects of NAFTA. Clinton administration
officials are worried that NAFTA could emerge as a political liability
in 1996.  The clearest indication that the White House is trying to
ease the adverse NAFTA reaction was the unilateral announcement in
December by U. S. Trade Representative Mickey Kantor and
Transportation Secretary Frederico Pena that there would be an
indefinite delay in a NAFTA provision that would have allowed Mexican
trucks to start traveling freely throughout the Southwestern border
states. 
     
Senator Bob Dole has also indicated a desire to put trade issues on
the back burner.  He said: "We're choking on free trade agreements', a
clear indication that Congress may not move as quickly with the
much discussed "fast-track, CBI and Chile" trade legislation.
     
One of the strongest advocates in Congress in opposition to NAFTA, is
Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur (D-OH), who  along with Senator Byron
Dorgan (D-ND), has introduced legislation which sets conditions
for  the continued participation of the U. S. in the North American
Free Trade Agreement.  It is the NAFTA ACCOUNTABILITY ACT.
     
The Nafta Accountability Act (HR2651 and S1417) is designed to assess
the impact of the NAFTA, to require further negotiation of some
provisions of the Agreement and to provide the withdrawal from
NAFTA  unless certain conditions are met.  There is bipartisan support
for this bill and co-sponsors are needed to assure an early date for
committee consideration and floor debate.  
     
Please urge all UWSA members to contact their members of Congress and
ask them to co-sponsor this important legislation that revisits  the
North American Free Trade Agreement.   
     
The list that follows includes some of the relevant activity that  has
occurred since the NAFTA report of September 1995.  Please call your
UWSA chapter with any information on NAFTA developments in
your area.
     
    * January 20, 1996, Gannett News Service

In the past two years, since NAFTA took effect, more than 49,000
workers nationwide have been declared eligible for government
retraining and education aid because their jobs were wiped out by
increased trade between Canada and Mexico through 1995. "This
program...is just the tip of the iceberg," said Gregory Woodhead, an
economist for the AFL-CIO in Washington.  He estimates 225,000 workers
have lost their jobs because of NAFTA.
     
    * January 17, 1996, Herald Journal, Spartanburg, S.C.

More than 400 workers at the Uniteed Technologies Automotive Plant in
St. Matthews got the word Tuesday that they would lose their jobs to
plants in Ohio and Mexico.
     
     * January 15, 1996, The New York Times

Ca-Ce-Len Manufacturing Company of Granger, TX. closed its doors
December 31, 1995 depriving 50 long-time workers of jobs.  
     
     * January 11, 1996, Desert Sun, Palm Springs, CA.

Year-end unemployment figures from Imperial County, CA show the
jobless rate reached an all-time high of 31 percent in 1995, compared
to a national rate of 5.3 percent.  The effects of the peso
devaluation hit this agricultural region very swiftly.  
     
    * January 5, 1996, Women's Wear Daily

The chairman of the House Trade Subcommittee announced plans to hold
hearings this spring to quiet the growing chorus of complaints
centering on NAFTA.  It is expected the hearings are in reaction to
the growing trade deficit with Mexico, problems with the provisions
that would permit Mexican truckers to enter the U. S., the peso
devaluation and the lack of improvement of environmental and working
conditions along the U.S/Mexico border.
      
     * January 3, 1996, The Christian Science Monitor

After two years of the trade accord, NAFTA still generates plenty of
political heat - but little economic light so far.  Now, estimates of
net job losses from NAFTA range from 25,000 to more than 350,000.
America's 1995 trade deficit with Mexico exceeded $16 billion.
     
     * January 2, 1996, The Dallas Morning News

Public Citizen's new report on the effects of Nafta is quoted, "NAFTA
has caused a jump in industrial activity in the Mexican border zone
and a 20 percent increase in maquiladora workers without appreciable
improvements in industrial waste or human health infrastructure."
     
    * January 2, 1996, The Kansas City Star 

Further from the Public Citizen report: "Illegal dumping of industrial
wastes along the U.S./ Mexico border has increased; air pollution has
worsened; and hepatitis, dysentery and other diseases still exist in
rates far higher than elsewhere in the United States."
     
    * January 1, 1996, The San Jose Mercury News

In Watsonville, CA. So many jobs left for Mexico, Guatemala and other
parts of Latin America that last January Watsonville was designated a
Rural Enterprise Community by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
     
    * December 31, 1995, The Morning News of Northwest Arkansas

Trade Representative Kantor and Clinton administration officials are
worried that NAFTA could emerge as a political liability in 1996.
Clinton's predictions that NAFTA would quickly add 200,000 net
new U. S.  Jobs has proved exceedingly optimistic.
     
    * December 26, 1995, The Wall Street Journal

Senator Bob Dole said: " We're choking on free trade agreements."
"Fast track legislation is not going to happen."  "I don't think it's
a good idea."
     
     * December 18, 1995, The New York Times

The Clinton administration and the Mexican Government today backed
away from a politically volatile and highly symbolic provision of
NAFTA, indefinitely delaying the day when Mexican trucks can move
freely through much of the Southwest.
     
    * December 12, 1995, Naples Daily News

Florida's tomato shipments are down 45 percent so far this year over
the 1994-95 season, while Mexican sales in this country are up 147
percent, according to figures from the U. S. Department of
Agriculture.  Mexico has "found a way to get around what we thought
was the (NAFTA) protection that was going to be afforded to Florida
winter vegetable producers," said Senator Bob Graham of Florida.
     
    * December 1, from UWSA member in Boise, Idaho

Boise Cascade Corp. closed a sawmill in Council, Idaho terminating 56
jobs.  Boise Cascade also closed three other sawmills with job loss of
23.  At about the same time, Boise Cascade leased a sawmill
operation in Mexico which has 150 local employees.
     
    * November 30, 1995, Dallas Morning News

"Mexico has definitely become the premier player in the smuggling of
narcotics into the U. S.," said Phil Jordan, Director of the El Paso
Intelligence Center jointly run by U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency.
Today the U.S. DEA figures that 75% of drugs entering the U. S. from
South America come through Mexico, up from 25% a decade ago.
     
    * November 15, 1995, U. S. Department of Commerce

U.S. exports for Mexican consumption have dropped 45%.  Meanwhile, 81%
of U. S. exports to Mexico are parts and components destined to return
to the U. S. market as finished products.  These "exports" cost
American jobs as they represent manufacturing being contracted out to
Mexican assembly plants rather than being done in the United States.
     
    * November 1, 1995, Charlotte, North Carolina

Clevemont Mills, owned by Fruit of the Loom Inc., will fold its
operation December 31 eliminating 430 jobs.  The Clevemont cuts are
part of Fruit of the Loom's plans to cut 3200 jobs, close six plants
and cut operations in two more. 
     
   * October 30, 1995, DNR Publication

Wrangler Inc., will close three manufacturing facilities in Tennessee
and Arkansas by December 31.  Approximately 700 employees are affected
by the closings.
     
     * October 26, 1995, The Wall Street Journal

Promise: Quaker Oats Co said it would add 61 jobs in Dallas, Cedar
Rapids, Iowa and St. Joseph, Mo., if NAFTA passed.  Reality: Quaker
Oats continues to make their product in Mexico.  No new NAFTA related
jobs.
     
  * October 16, 1995, The Dallas Morning News

Brookshire Knitting Mills of Dallas laid off 125 employees and will
cut about 30 of its 90 remaining jobs in Dallas in 1996 because of
free trade with Mexico. Those jobs are moving to a new Brookshire
facility in Matamoros where wages are far less than those paid in
Dallas.
      
    * October 15, 1995, The Spokesman-Review, Spokane, WA

Key-Tronic, a Spokane-based manufacturer of computer keyboards, laid
off 277 workers and moved their jobs to a plant in Ciudad Juarez.
     
     * October 9, 1995, New York Times

U.P.S., which employs 1,400 people in Mexico, this week gave Mexico a
"failing grade" on its compliance with the trade accord and warned
that its operations here were so severely hampered that it might
have to shut them down.
     
    * October 5, 1995, DNR Publication

Lee Apparel Co., Inc., a division of VF Corp., will close its
manufacturing plant in St. Joseph, Mo., on December 29, 1995.  Some
479 employees will be affected by the plant closing.  VF has
operations in Mexico.
      
    * October 4, 1995, Dubuque Telegraph Herald

ERTL Company in Dyersville, IA., plans to eliminate 300 jobs and
consolidate its model kit division in Tijuana, Mexico where wages are
84 percent lower than at the Dyersville plant.


UNITED WE STAND AMERICA 
NAFTA IMPACT UPDATE and Job Loss Report
December 1994


*  The Wall Street Journal  -- August 5, 1994

"International Business Machines Corp....will eliminate hundreds of
jobs and relocate manufacturing to lower-cost  regions....IBM plans to
establish this new site as a joint venture with an undetermined Asian
partner, and use non-IBM employees, so that it will be easier to scale
back or move to an even lower-cost region."

The North American Free Trade Agreement's impact on America is already
significant. Every day newspaper and television  coverage of NAFTA's
direct or indirect impact is brought to our attention.

As American firms relocate south of the border and take jobs and
investment dollars with them, the U.S. taxpayer is increasingly linked
to Mexico's social, political and economic instability.  The
assassination of presidential candidate Luis Donaldo Colosio, the
Chiapas Revolt, and other domestic conflicts highlight the risks that
the U.S. government and businesses must deal with in Mexico.

Despite the impact that NAFTA has had on American jobs, Congress
recently passed the General Agreement of Tariffs and Trade.  Like
NAFTA, GATT will make it easier for American jobs to move overseas to
nations without environmental and worker protection laws.

The list that follows includes some of the relevant events that have
occurred since NAFTA was approved by the U.S. Congress in November
1993. Please call your UWSA chapter with any information on NAFTA
developments in your area.

*       December 2, 1994, The Associated Press: 

A congressional Joint Economic Committee estimates that in the first
nine months of 1994, increased imports from Mexico cost the U.S.
137,000 jobs.

*       December 1, 1994, United We Stand America: 

On January 1, 1994, one U.S. dollar was equal to 3.106 Mexican pesos.
On December 1, 1994, one dollar was equal to 3.435 pesos.  The
devalued peso has increased the cost of U.S. exports to Mexican
consumers by 10.5%. Simultaneously, their has been a 10.5% drop in the
cost of Mexican labor for U.S. companies.  Prior to NAFTA, Mexico's
tariffs averaged 10%.  The devalued peso has effectively canceled out
most of the Mexican tariff reductions given to the U.S. under NAFTA.

*       December 1, 1994, The Dallas Morning News and November 26,
1994, The Washington Post:

In 1991 Mexico only had two billionaires. Mexico now has at least 28
billionaires. However, this newfound wealth has not helped the working
class. Mexico's minimum wage has been declining since 1981.  Since
then the minimum wage has dropped 30%.

*       November 25, 1994, Chicago Tribune:

Because international corn prices are below what the Mexican
government guarantees its farmers, Mexico is requiring that all corn
imports be at least 50% covered with green dye.  This technique is
being used to track imported corn to differentiate it from Mexican
corn.  U.S. companies claim that this is a nontariff barrier to trade,
and shipping companies say this requirement makes shipping slower and
more costly because the dye must be cleaned from rail cars.

*       November 21, 1994, Tallahassee (Fla.) Democrat:

NAFTA supporters claim that increased competition from Mexico would
benefit consumers with lower prices and open markets for farmers.
According to the Florida Department of Agriculture, Florida tomato
farmers have suffered a 24%-25% drop in production.  Consumers,
however, have not seen lower prices from this competition. A deputy
assistant U.S. trade representative for agriculture said:  "We do
understand the problem; we are aware it's (NAFTA) not working well or
not at all." He then said that their is little that the U.S. trade
representative's office can do because changes to NAFTA must be 
approved by Congress.

*       November 18, 1994, The Associated Press

The U.S. trade surplus with Mexico has plunged 55% over two years. In
the first eight months of 1994 the U.S. exported $1.7 billion more to
Mexico than it imported from Mexico.  In the same period two years
earlier the U.S. trade surplus was $3.9 billion.

*       November 16, 1994, The Atlanta Constitution:

Georgia's Lithonia Lighting announced it will build a 100,000 square
foot plant in Mexico. According to the Georgia Department of Labor,
1,000 workers in Georgia have already lost their job as companies
moved production to Mexico.

*       November 14, 1994, Business Week:

According to the Commerce Department, U.S. firms are planning to
increase their investments in foreign operations by an average of 8%
this year. Capital expenditures by U.S. companies in Mexico are
expected to increase 40%.

*       November 7, 1994, NAFTA and Inter-American Trade Monitor:

The International Intellectual Property Association (IIPA) ranked
Mexico as the seventh-largest offender of in the world.  In 1993, the
association estimates that Mexico pirated software, books, music, and
video products costing $293 million.  NAFTA was supposed to strengthen
intellectual property laws, but the IIPA states that Mexico's fines do
not meet NAFTA's standards.

*       October 19, 1994, The New York Times:

Scott Paper Co. will spend $148 million to expand plants in Mexico.
Scott announced in August that it was cutting 10,500 jobs worldwide.

*       October 17, 1994, The New York Times:

The Times reports that Mexico is not enforcing NAFTA's environmental
agreements.  The story mentions a 13-year-old child from Laredo, TX,
who died from a brain infection after swimming in the Rio Grande. The
infection was eventually traced to the city of Nuevo Laredo, Mexico,
where 24 million gallons to raw sewage is dumped daily.

*       October 15, 1994, Spartanburg (South Carolina) Herald-Journal:

Volkswagen of Mexico announced record exports of more than 75,000 cars
so far in 1994.  Most of the cars were sold in the United States and
Canada and built in Puebla, Mexico.

*       October 14, 1994, The Wall Street Journal:

Clinton Administration officials rejected union complaints that Mexico
did not protect workers attempting to organize unions.  Honeywell
fired 20 workers in Chihuahua, Mexico for allegedly trying to form a
union.

*       October 11, 1994, United Press International:

Motor Wheel Corp. announced it will form a joint venture with Nissan
Trading Co. Ltd. to manufacture brake components and flywheels in
Mexico. The plant will employ approximately 100 people in Mexico.  The
products will be sold to Nissan and Chrysler, and potentially General
Motors and Ford.

*       October 4, 1994, San Jose (California) Mercury News:

Plantronics Inc. of Santa Cruz, CA, is shifting some of its operations
to Tijuana. 38 jobs were lost in California, and 38 gained in Mexico.

*       September 16, 1994, Savannah (Georgia) Morning News:

The Georgia Peanut Commission announces that 80% of Georgia's 8,000
peanut farmers' jobs are in jeopardy because of NAFTA.

*       September 15, 1994, Chicago Tribune:

Nissan will become the first Japanese automaker to build cars in
Mexico. In 1995, about 20,000 cars will be built in Mexico and sold in
the United States.

*       September 14, 1994, San Diego Union-Tribune:

Samsung, a gigantic South Korean electronic manufacturer, announced
its plans to build a $400 million television factory in Tijuana,
bringing 4,000 new jobs to the area. Samsung officials state that
NAFTA was a major factor in this decision.


*     September 14, 1994, Daily News (Naples, FL):

85 apparel workers were laid off by the Continental Apparel
Manufacturing The companies vice president for manufacturing said:
"We've been greatly affected by NAFTA....The fact that we're having to
compete with offshore products...NAFTA has virtually eliminated the
apparel industry in the U.S."

*       September 12, 1994, Los Angeles Times:

The LA Times reports that Mexican citizens and U.S.  businesses along
the U.S.- Mexico border are upset about a $50 limit imposed by Mexican
customs on U.S. goods.  Americans are limited to a $400 limit in
Mexico.

*       September 9, 1994, Daily News (Naples, FL):

The Florida Tomato Committee announced that tomato sales in Florida
were down 24.3 percent.  Growers blamed the decline on Mexican
tomatoes, which they claim are sold below production costs.

*       September 9, 1994, The Associated Press:

Keyes Fiber Co. is laying off 90 to 100 workers as it moves some of
its operations from Hammond, IN, to Mexico.

*       September 8, 1994, The Daily News (Batovia, NY):

Mallinckrodt Medical Inc., a catheter manufacturer for the health care
industry, is moving 450 jobs from Argyle, NY, to plants in Mexico,
Ireland, and California. Company officials blamed overseas competition
for the layoffs.

*       August 1994, Department of Labor:

According the Department of Labor, the NAFTA Transitional Adjustment
Assistance Program granted 72 certifications covering 6, 263 workers
as of August 1.  These workers will now receive a variety of benefits
paid for by American taxpayers.

*       August 21, 1994, Providence (Rhode Island) Journal Bulletin:

The 800 union employees of Leviton, an electrical outlet manufacturer,
were forced to accept a wage freeze and 12-hour work shifts as the
company threatened to move its operations to Mexico.  The company
already has two plants in  Tijuana and Tecate.

*       August 19, 1994, The Associated Press:

The U.S. trade deficit within North America rose from $478 million to
$1 billion between May and June. If this trend  continues, the
Commerce Department estimates the United States will end this year --
the first under NAFTA -- with a $2.1 billion surplus, down from $5.4
billion in 1992.  "Our imports from Mexico rose faster than our
exports to Mexico in the first six months (under NAFTA)," said one
economist. "I'm a little puzzled as to why they (Clinton
administration) are selling this as a big success."


*       August 5, 1994, The San Antonio Express-News:

"When American entrepreneur Bradley Tirpack set up a Mexico City phone
company called Acces Telecom that lured customers from Telmex, the
giant Mexican telephone company, Telmex cut off his phone lines and
all but put him out of business....The U.S. Corn Refiners Association
said Mexican sugar growers tried to pressure Mexican soft-drink
bottlers into boycotting high fructose corn syrup, produced mainly in
the U.S."

*       August 3, 1994, The Wall Street Journal:

An official with the State Department said that Mexico, which is the
largest foreign investor in Cuba, is purchasing assets in Cuba that
were seized from American companies.  Other Mexican investments, such
as the $1.5 billion purchase of 49% of Cuba's telephone company, are
helping the island withstand the U.S. trade embargo.

*       August 3, 1994, Journal of Commerce:

An appeals panel overturned $400 million a year in penalty duties
imposed by the United States on imports of Canadian lumber.  The three
member appeals panel, known as an "extraordinary challenge committee,"
was set up as a result of  NAFTA's provisions. The two Canadians on
the panel voted with their nation, and the lone American judge voted
with the United States.

*       August 1, 1994, The Cincinnati Post:

Over the past year, Tex Style Inc. has began laying off 150 people as
the company moves some of its manufacturing operations to Mexico.

*       July 30, 1994, Chicago Tribune:

Matsushita Television Co. announced it was laying off  330 employees
as it closes its production plant in Franklin Park, IL.  Production
will be shifted to Tijuana, Mexico.

*       July 29, 1994, South Bend (IN) Tribune:

RACO Inc., a subsidiary of Hubbell Inc. electronics, announced it is
relocating its electrical fittings operation to Mexico.  As a result,
between 43 and 63 jobs will be lost in South Bend.

*       July 1994, direct mail piece to various American businesses:

A flyer sent to U.S. companies by Desarrollo y Direccion de Ventas
(Sales Direction and Development) read:  "Four North-Central Mexican
states have combined efforts in forming a new private entity, DDV,
created for the sole purpose:  Introducing American manufacturers
personally, without cost, to the most advantageous and efficient ways
of saving you up to 60% on your labor costs."


*       July 1994, Global Trade & Transportation:

"While NAFTA rolled back many tariffs, it did not affect Mexican
impact taxes...the Impuesto al Valor Anadio (IVA, or value-added tax)
still lives on."  As one expert explained, "IVA is a 10% transaction
tax, levied at every step a product is manufactured or handled in
trade.  Since importation is a transaction, IVA is always applied,
whether or not a product is subject to reduced duties under NAFTA."

*       July 29, 1994, Fort Worth Star-Telegram:

Texas State Rep. Bob Hunter raised his concerns about  the billions of
dollars in damages that NAFTA is having on Texas' roads.  The maximum
legal weight for trucks on Texas' highways is 80,000 pounds, but some
Mexican trucks weigh up to 140,000 pounds.

*      July 25, 1994, Auto Week:

Chrysler announced that it plans on building 70,000 Dodge pickup
trucks this year in Mexico.

*       July 22, 1994, St. Louis Post-Dispatch:

Mallinckrodt Group Inc., a medical equipment manufacturer that makes
catheters shutdown two plants in the St. Louis area as the company
eliminates at least 122 jobs. The company also announced its plans to
build a plant in Mexico.

*       June 30, 1994, River Falls (Wisconsin) Journal:

As Smead Manufacturing moves approximately 50 jobs to a new plant in
Reynose, Mexico, officials in River Falls are concerned about the
economic impact the job losses will have on the community.  The
company and its employees provide sizable city and school taxes.

*       June 29, 1994, The Dallas Morning News:

Trade regulators in Mexico temporarily closed down a Mexico City
Wal-Mart store because of violations to Mexico's capricious
regulations. A Wal-Mart spokesman said Mexican trade laws "can be very
technical, and they have a tendency to change daily or weekly."

*       June 26, 1994, Chicago-Sun Times:

"Canada's merchandise trade surplus widened in April to a record $864
million, thanks to strong sales of cars and trucks to the United
States, Statistics Canada said." 

*       June 22, 1994, Congressional Record:

Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D-OH) speaking before the House of Representatives:
"When the administration tells us that NAFTA has benefited our
country, I wonder if they have talked to the workers who are losing
their jobs...There is no one keeping tabs on lost production in our
country.  The only people that really know are the farmers and the
workers who are being thrown out of their jobs across this
country...Wages have not been going up, benefits have not been going
up, so what is going on is the hollowing-out of production in
manufacturing and agriculture in this Nation."


*       June 18, 1994, The Flint (Michigan) Journal:

At least 30 workers laid off by First Inertia Switch are applying for
NAFTA  benefits.  The workers claim their jobs were lost because
General Motors decided to purchase a sensor from a Mexican company
instead from First Inertia. If the federal government approves the
benefits, these individuals will be eligible for up 78 weeks of state
and federal benefits and up to 104 weeks of federally-funded training.

*       June 9, 1994, Winston-Salem Journal:

After announcing that it was planning on cutting more than 8,000 jobs,
Sara Lee confirmed that few if any of these jobs will be cut from its
Mexican operations.

*       June 6, 1994, The New York Times,  and June 9, 1994, The Blade
(Toledo, Ohio):

As a result of NAFTA many American companies are sending parts and
materials to Mexico for final assembly.  These products are then
"imported" into the United States.  For example, motor vehicle imports
from Mexico to the United States increased 48.3% in the first quarter
of 1994 as compared to the first quarter of 1993.

*        June 6, 1994, The Wall Street Journal:

During the first quarter of 1994, the United States' quarterly trade
surplus with Mexico fell by $536 million as compared to the same
quarter last year.

*       June 6, 1994, The New York Times:

General Motors reported that it exported 11,000 cars from the United
States to Mexico. However, 8,000 of these cars were actually
manufactured in Spain.

*       June 5, 1994, The Morning Call ( Allentown, PA):

Approximately 50 jobs were lost in Fogelsville, PA when Hubbell-Bell
Inc. decided to move its electrical waterproofing operation to Mexico.
The company had told its employees that the only way to save their
jobs was to agree to an hourly wage of $2.09.

*       June 4, 1994, Naples (Fla.) Daily News:

Florida's agricultural commissioner asked U.S. Trade Representative
Mickey Cantor for "a quick and firm response" to the effect that the
import of Mexican tomatoes was having on Southwest Florida's tomato
industry. "(Mexican tomatoes) have flooded and completely destroyed
our market," a tomato farmer 
said.

*       June 1, 1994, The Chattanooga Times:

The Eaton Corporation laid off 325 workers as it moved production from
Arden, NC, to Mexico.  As a result of NAFTA, these workers will now
qualify for job-search and retraining  benefits paid for by American
taxpayers.

*       May 1994, Kentucky Post:

A Northern Kentucky art manufacturer will lay off 70 employees as it
moves production facilities to Mexico. "With the changes in NAFTA, it
made it really attractive," a company spokesman said.

*       May 1994, St. Louis Post-Dispatch:

Leslie Fay Cos., a dressmaker, is planning to lay off 1,050 workers at
four Pennsylvania manufacturing plants.  The company's president said,
"We'll just begin to make all of our goods offshore."

*       May 23, 1994, The Miami Herald:

A Herald article tells the story of a foreign businessman who obtained
a $2 million dollar loan from a Mexican bank to develop a country club
on property he owned.  While in Mexico for a meeting with the bank,
the businessman was arrested and jailed for fraud.  While he was in
jail, a large Mexican tourist company bought the property and pieces
of the country club project without his consent.

*       May 22, 1994, The Chicago Tribune:

Samsung electronics is building a $100 million plant in Mexico that
will create about 1,000 jobs. Pioneer electronics is opening a plant
that will employ about 125 people. These are jobs and capitol that
could have been used in the United States.

*       May 19, 1994, The New York Times:

 A unit of Cemex, one of Mexico's largest cement companies, is
purchasing construction materials assets from the LaFarge Corporation
for $100 million. All the facilities are located throughout Texas.

*       May 19, 1994, The Atlanta Constitution:

National Service Industries asked workers at its Conyers, GA, lighting
facility to take a 20% pay cut and 36% cut in benefits.  The company
has been investigating manufacturing opportunities in Mexico.

*       May 18, 1994, Milwaukee Sentinel:

By spinning off its automotive lock division to its shareholders,
Briggs & Stratton cut 286 jobs in Glendale, WI, while hiring over 300
people in its Juarez, Mexico, plant.

*       May 10, 1994, The Miami Herald:

Originally against NAFTA, E. Clay Shaw (R-FL) voted for the agreement
after being assured that a man who raped his secretary's niece would
be extradited to the United States.  Weeks after NAFTA was approved,
the man was arrested for the crime, which was committed in California,
and was convicted in April by a Mexican court.  However, the convicted
rapist has not been extradited to the United States because a new
extradition treaty has not been signed.

*       May 9, 1994, Business Week:

According to Citizens Against Government Waste, Congress approved
$34.6 million for screwworm research.  The beef-infesting parasite is
no longer a threat to U.S. beef, but the Department of Agriculture
claims research is needed because beef from Mexico may carry the
parasite.

*       April 22, 1994, The Buffalo News:

According to Department of Labor statistics, New York state lost 130
jobs in the first three-and-a-half months after NAFTA began. "I have
to say if there had been no NAFTA, (this) factory would have been open
today," said the general manger of a now-defunct plant. The lost jobs
were relocated to Canada.

*       April 19, 1994, Spartanburg (South Carolina) Herald Journal:

Thomas & Betts, an automotive and computer electronics company,
announced its plans to lay off 100 workers as the company moves some
of its production to Mexico.

*       April 19, 1994, The Christian Science Monitor:

The Monitor reports that the United States has given  the Mexican
government a $6 billion line of credit to ensure the stability of the
Mexican peso. However, Mexico's government has over $24 billion in
reserves. The paper also reports that the Mexico Trade Ministry
announced on April 12, that 33 U.S. companies including Chrysler,
General Motors, Ford and J.C. Penny, plan to invest $6.1 billion in
Mexico during 1994.  Finally, the Monitor reports that "an estimated
$6.2 billion of capital has fled the country (Mexico) since Colosio's
death...."

*       April 16, 1994, AFL-CIO and other sources:

250 workers at a Sony Corporation facility in Nuevo Laredo were
attacked by police while conducting a peaceful demonstration in front
of the plant.  The workers, which were mostly women, were protesting
Sony's attempt to conduct  fraudulent union elections aimed at
choosing union delegates who support company policies.

*       April 9, 1994, The Miami Herald:

South Florida tomato farmers are worried about an influx of Mexican
tomatoes as a result of NAFTA eliminating tariffs.  As one farmer
said: "Mexican farmers are shipping below cost of U.S. production, and
you can only stay in business for so long without a market for your
product."

*       April 4, 1994, The New York Times:

"Continental Airlines plans to eliminate about 240 jobs in Houston as
it transfers some data-entry work to Mexico...."


*       March 1994, New Economics:

As a result of economic shifts occurring under NAFTA, immigration
levels from Mexico to the U.S. may rise 10% over the next 20 years.
According to  one study, approximately 1.7 to 2.3 million Mexicans
currently immigrate to the U.S. each year.

*       March 31, 1994, The West Virginian:

Phllips Lighting laid off 60 workers, including some who worked for
the company for 27 years, as the company moved its operations to
Mexico.

*       March 27, 1994, The Spokesman-Review (Spokane, WA):

Telect Inc., a telecommunications equipment company, announced it is
moving some of its operations to Mexico.  "The Mexican operation will
be a partnership where we build the product in Spokane, ship it into
Mexico, then stock it and add value to it at a plant there," Telect's
president said.

*       March 10, 1994:

According to a survey performed by the National Association of
Purchasing Management:   "17.1% of large U.S. Companies plan to move
operations to Mexico because of the North American Free Trade
Agreement."

*       March 7, 1994, The Dallas Morning News:

In Laredo, TX, Mexican customs agents spurred riots as they attempted
to enforce restrictions on imports brought from the U.S. into Mexico
by Mexican citizens.  As a result, Laredo merchants say their sales
are down 15% to 20%. One local business owner is planning to lay off
up to 25% of his employees because of decreased business.

*       February 1994, Miscellaneous source:

The White-Rogers Division of the Emerson Electric Co. will lay off 300
workers in Logansport, IN by the end of 1994.   Production lines are
being moved to Juarez, Mexico.

*       February 1994, Miscellaneous source:

Hours after NAFTA was signed, General Motors notified Detroit Steel of
Indiana, which manufactured springs, that GM was pulling their work
out of Indiana and sending it to Mexico.  GM will save forty cents per
spring. Before NAFTA the tariff on springs imported from Mexico was
forty cents.

* February 24, 1994, Columbus (Ohio) Dispatch:

Honda Motor Co. is studying setting up a car production plant in
Mexico. Most of Honda's new factories in North America over the past
decade have been built in Ohio.

*       February 16, 1994, Columbus (Ohio) Dispatch:

Walker Manufacturing Co., the world's largest producer of auto exhaust
systems is closing a plant in Hebron, Ohio and relocating to Mexico.
The move will result in the loss of 305 jobs.

*       January 11, 1994, Columbus (Ohio) Dispatch:

Nintendo of America announced on January 10, that it was moving 136
jobs from its United States payrolls to Mexico.  Because of a NAFTA
provision, these unemployed workers qualify for federal entitlements,
including welfare benefits paid for by U.S. tax dollars.

*       December 17, 1993:

Ford announces a $175 million upgrade of a Mexican plant to assemble
cars for Mexico and for export to the U.S. and Canada. Ford also
announced that 300 Mexican workers currently laid-off from the plant
will be recalled, boosting the work force there to 1,100. (See June 6,
1994, entry from The New York Times below.)

*       December 15, 1993:

U.S. Department of Commerce announces October trade data showing a
deficit of $390 million for the month in trade with Mexico.

*       December 15, 1993:

Former Senator and Secretary of Labor Bill Brock acknowledged
receiving $934,000 from the Mexican government to provide strategic
advice on winning NAFTA in Congress.

*       December 6, 1993:

The U.S. Dept. of Agriculture proposed new branding and identification
requirements aimed to halt spread of tuberculosis by Mexican cattle
imports. Bill Johnson, deputy administrator of the Animal and Plant
Health Inspection Service said the new rules were necessary to halt
the dramatic rise in tuberculosis-infected cattle found at U.S.
slaughterhouses that have been traced back to Mexico. On average, one
million Mexican cattle are imported into the U.S. each year.

*       December 3, 1993:

Aerovox Inc. announced plans to move production from its Glasgow, KY
plant to Mexico, which will result in the loss of 180 jobs.

*       December 2, 1993:

Newly-elected Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chretien announced he would
implement NAFTA. A major portion of his campaign platform was his
partys opposition to NAFTA as written.

*       December 2, 1993, The Knoxville (Tennessee) News-Sentinel:

D.M. Steward Inc., an electronic component manufacturer announced it
was laying off about 40 employees.  The company's president said that
because of Mexico's cheaper labor rates some manufacturing was being
moved to Mexico in order to become more competitive in the Asian
market.

*       December 1, 1993:

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency delayed the phase-out of
pesticides that deplete the ozone in an apparent pay back to members
of Congress from Florida for their votes for NAFTA.

*       December 1, 1993:

Seven Central American nations ask President Clinton to be included in
an expanded NAFTA.

*       December 1, 1993:

In Mexico, Vice President Gore discusses the process needed for other
Latin American countries to join NAFTA, according to U.S. Trade
Representative Mickey Kantor.

*       November 23, 1993:

Flat glass maker PPG Industries announces expansion into Mexico, first
through additional exports from a Texas plant, then via direct
investment in Mexico. Earlier in 1993, PPG announced plans to close
two Pennsylvania plants.

*       November 20, 1993:

By a 61-39 vote, NAFTA passes in the Senate.

*       November 19, 1993, Dallas Morning News:

Headline: Mexican Stock Market Soars. Foreign Investors Capitalize on
Diminished Investment Risks.

*       November 19, 1993:

Chile, Colombia and Argentina ask to be included in an expanded
accord.

*       November 19, 1993:

The U.S. Department of Commerce announces a trade deficit of $101
million with Mexico in September 1993, down from a $100 million
surplus in August 1993.

*       November 18, 1993:

GE announces the December 21 closing of a Murfreesboro, TN plant,
which will result in the loss of 700 jobs. Production will continue in
existing Mexican GE plants.

*       November 17, 1993:

By a 234-200 vote, NAFTA passes in the House.