US unemployment and its relationship with NAFTA/ WTO

So it is official.

According to the Head of the Agency that compiles unemployment statistics in the US, the poor US payrolls data for May reflect a “general weakening in job growth” rather than any temporary distortion.

As I have argued earlier, employment in the US is highly unlikely to improve sustainably as long as the US subscribes to NAFTA and WTO agreements that create a playing field tilted against the US.

NAFTA and WTO agreements systematically privilege countries that pay less attention to environmental and human concerns.

Why?

Because it is cheaper to produce in countries that neglect, and so do not have to pay for, environmental and human concerns.

The result is that it is economically beneficial for production to migrate to such countries from countries such as the USA that pay at least marginally more attention to environmental and human concerns.

That is why employment is not going to return to the US and Europe as long as they subscribe to treaties such as NAFTA and WTO that neglect environmental and human concerns.

In other words, creating a level playing field, in which all countries are equally obliged to pay some minimal attention to environmental and human standards, is in the best interests of all countries. Sphere: Related Content