ARTICLE SUMMARY

Article Summary

Article Summary

Article 1

The article states that The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) was signed by the Presidents of Mexico and the United States, and the Prime Minister of Canada. Having been ratified by the legislatures of all three countries, the pact became effective on January 1, 1994. When fully implemented, NAFTA will result in the world's largest international free trade zone, with more than 370 million consumers, and a combined gross national product in excess of six trillion U.S. dollars. Over a ten year period, the agreement essentially abolished tariffs, import fees, and quantitative import restrictions among the signatories.

With the establishment or the North American Free Trade Area (NAFTA) in 1994, the United States, Canada, and Mexico have created the world's largest free trade zone involving over 400 million people and 11 trillion dollars in annual production. In addition, three-way trade in goods and services reached 660 billion dollars in 2000, more than double the three-way trade of 300 billion dollars in 1993. January 1, 2002 marked the beginning of the ninth full year of the implementation of this historic continental agreement, an accord which will be fully in place in 2008.

Article 2

The article states that Globalization may be defined as a growing interdependence and interconnectedness among nations and people, whether on a global or regional scale. In terms of the economic dimension of globalization, the international movement of goods, services, capital, technology, and people stands at record levels. World trade in goods and services now adds up to seven trillion dollars annually. The volume of world trade is up 16-fold since 1947 and, in recent years, international trade has been growing at a rate almost three times faster than the aggregate growth in national economies. In the year 2000, global trade flows grew by a robust 13 per cent, although recessionary conditions and the aftermath of the September 11th tragedy cut this growth rate to little more than one per cent in 2001.

Article 3

The article states that Trans-border merger and acquisition activity approached a record 800 billion dollars in 1999, up almost 50 percent from the previous record levels of 1998, and both short-term and long-term investment flows doubled between 1995 and 1999. The half million affiliates of multinational corporations also produce sales of 11 trillion dollars per year, far outpacing the total cross-border trade in goods and services. The international movement of people for business, tourism, and immigration purposes has never been higher, with almost three million people crossing national borders daily, triple the level of 1980. Roughly 698 million tourists traveled internationally in 2000 and spent 476 billion dollars, up dramatically from the 457 million travelers and 264 billion dollars in expenditures recorded in 1990. In the realm of currency transactions, foreign-exchange markets have literally exploded with daily activity topping 1.5 trillion dollars. In cyberspace, more than 250 million people now go on-line using t he Internet and this number is mushrooming. Telephonic communications are also at record levels with traffic ...