Much of the over production in first world agriculture is later dumped into the international market, depressing food prices on a global scale. Guess what, developing nations have a greater advantage in farming and food products make the majority of exports in many developing countries. However, many of those countries are not able to reap the benefits of such, thanks in part to subsidies in the developed world allowing for overproduction of foodstuff that developing countries can do better, faster, and easier and gain from trade of those foods sold on the international market.
Why are farms in developed nations subsidized? A combination of special interest groups pressuring the governments to keep the subsidies and the average citizen in "love" with the countryside that they don't want to see those farm disappear. Southern France is able to look like Southern France at the expense of Mali, Nigeria, Haiti, etc.
Refering back to Mexico, Mexico gained well in the places expected. In the places where it did not gained, was mostly due to unfair practices beyond the realm of free market and free trade.
Free trade works, only when it really exist.
TB, I beg to differ. Free Trade is not a relatively new development. Free trade has existed since Western Europe tranformed itself from a feudal society to a mercantilist and later a capitalistic society. The wealthiest nations of the world are the nations that have been trading with each other on a free trade basis, where are the least developed nations are those that have protected their local markets extensively.
Trade between those rich nations and those developing nations is also restricted via tarrifs, subsidies, etc and that is the barrier that is being destroyed in the current wave of globalization. BTW, globalization is not a new phenomenon, it existed even before the World Wars.
-NALs
Why are farms in developed nations subsidized? A combination of special interest groups pressuring the governments to keep the subsidies and the average citizen in "love" with the countryside that they don't want to see those farm disappear. Southern France is able to look like Southern France at the expense of Mali, Nigeria, Haiti, etc.
Refering back to Mexico, Mexico gained well in the places expected. In the places where it did not gained, was mostly due to unfair practices beyond the realm of free market and free trade.
Free trade works, only when it really exist.
This was posted by TB on another thread.Texas Bill said:
TB, I beg to differ. Free Trade is not a relatively new development. Free trade has existed since Western Europe tranformed itself from a feudal society to a mercantilist and later a capitalistic society. The wealthiest nations of the world are the nations that have been trading with each other on a free trade basis, where are the least developed nations are those that have protected their local markets extensively.
Trade between those rich nations and those developing nations is also restricted via tarrifs, subsidies, etc and that is the barrier that is being destroyed in the current wave of globalization. BTW, globalization is not a new phenomenon, it existed even before the World Wars.
-NALs