Mr. Ross Perot, a former Presidential candidate of the Reform Party, that is a third political party in the United States, had objected strongly to the creation of the North American Trade Agreement (NAFTA), that nonetheless was inaugurated in the year of 1994, for the fear of losing American jobs to Mexico where this is much cheaper to hire workers. Explain merits and demerits of Mr. Perot's position on NAFTA? Considering the current economic developments in North America, how would you assess Mr. Perot's position on NAFTA?
As the inception of NAFTA, several American companies certainly have invested heavily in Mexico, sometimes relocating production from the United States to Mexico. Even though this might have temporarily caused unemployment of some American workers, ultimately they were rehired by other industries often for higher wages. Presently, the unemployment rate in the U.S. is quite low through historical standard. At the mean time, Mexico has been experiencing a major economic boom. It appears clear that both Mexico and the U.S. have benefited from NAFTA. Mr. Perot's concern appears to have been ill founded.