Problem:
You are the economic adviser to the president of Mexico. Labor unions and environmentalists in the United States are not the only ones speaking out against NAFTA. There continues to be opposition in Mexico by those complaining of a loss of national sovereignty and who feel that the income gap between the two countries will never be narrowed. Average hourly wages on the U.S. side of the border can be six times that on the Mexican side. Mexican critics fear that their entire country will be dominated by companies from the United States which do not contribute to Mexico's higher standard of living, but who instead use Mexico as a low-cost assembly site while keeping high-paying high-skilled jobs at home. Do you think that there is a way for trade agreements to help close the economic gap between poor and wealthy partners? Should this be one of the aims of trade agreements? As economic adviser, how do you suggest the president protect Mexico's workforce.