Reply #11: Thanks...

[redeye]

...as it seems, the main argument against the FTAA - namely that it is done without the people's consent - is moot because the governments invovled are the people's representatives, plus the people will have had at least 2 elections in each of the countries involved to elect governments opposed to free international trade. The problem here is that many of those countries aren't fully democratic, in which case I indeed oppose international trade, or at least any international trade measure that's not ratified by the people in a free election or by a government elected in a free election.

The argument that it'll cause unemployment is bogus because for every American laid off, a Costa Rican or Chilean will get a job.

That said, my gripes with the FTAA are the following:

a) No redistribution of money from the corproations who benefit from it to the workers; such a redistribution will ensure a win-win situation for both corporations and workers.

b) Emphasis on mobility of money with no mention of mobility of people (IOW, the INS will continue to harass Mexican immigrants).

c) I haven't found any measures to help protect fledgling economies and industries.