The Impact of NAFTA on the U.S. Textile Industry Essay -- Essays Paper

The Impact of NAFTA on the U.S. stuff IndustryWhen the North American Free Trade Agreement went into stamp in 1994, many expressed fears that mavin consequence would be considerable job rednesses in the US textile industry as companies moved production from the get together States to Mexico. Opponents of NAFTA argued passionately, but unsuccessfully, that the treaty should not be adopted because of the negative impact it would have on employment in the United States, particularly in industries such as textiles. A look at the data four years after the passage of NAFTA suggests the critics had a point. Between 1994 and mid-1997, somewhat 149,000 US apparel workers lost their jobs, over 15 percent of all employment in the industry. Much of this job loss has occurred because producers have moved production to Mexico. Between 1994 and 1997, Mexicos apparel exports to the United States trebled to $3.3 billion. In 1993, the US jeans maker, Guess?, sourced 95 percent of its prod uct domestically. Now it gets about 60 percent of its clothing from outside the United States, with Mexico as one of the biggest suppliers. Similarly, in 1995, Fruit of the Loom Inc., the largest manufacturer of underwear in the United States, said it would close six of its domestic plants and cut back trading operations at two others, laying off about 3,200 workers, or 12 percent of its US work force. The company announced the closures were part of its calculate to move its operations to cheaper plants abroad, particu...