Thread: Farmers Call For NAFTA Reforms

Farmers Call For NAFTA Reforms

By Dana Gabriel

http://www.opednews.com/articles/Farmer ... 6-622.html


NAFTA has produced winners, mostly multinational corporations and a long list of losers, which includes farmers. The trade agreement has been the source of much discontent and has become an easy target. NAFTA is so badly flawed, but it is only one part of our failed trade and economic strategy. It has hurt many farmers in the U.S., Canada and Mexico. Just as there are calls to reform energy, investment, labour and environmental provisions of NAFTA, many are also demanding changes to agricultural clauses found in the agreement.



At a recent trilateral conference held in Billings, Montana, there was a general consensus among livestock producers that NAFTA is not working for North American farmers, ranchers and consumers alike. The two day conference was hosted by the Western Organization of Resource Councils (WORC). The meetings addressed many challenges facing family farmers and ranchers, including the negative impact of NAFTA. Many of the promises made by proponents of the trade agreement, have not been kept and so called benefits have failed to materialize. Representatives at the conference are calling for new trade policies and market reforms, and are urging the leaders of the U.S., Canada and Mexico to renegotiate NAFTA.



Along with calling for changes to NAFTA, the conference made up of consumer groups and livestock producers from around North America, laid out other specific recommendations. In a press release, they called for the “Establishment of domestic food and agricultural policies that provide farmers with the cost of production without dumping commodities into other countries at below the cost of production.â€

I hope they do fight for reform.....lord knows we've pulled the short straw in this deal.

Originally Posted by crazybird

I hope they do fight for reform.....lord knows we've pulled the short straw in this deal.

ABOUT TIME!!! Obama was for reforming our side of NAFTA but as usual he was speaking out his butthole again.
He cowered when other countries chanted "Protectionism."
He's a bag of hot air and hopefully will explode soon.
I know many people that voted for him because of that ONE issue.
Whoopie Goldberg was one. She said that's what she wanted to hear.
Wonder what she thinks now? Ten to one, she's clueless about his cowardice new stance.

The biggest problem for Mexico with NAFTA leading to a decline in farming is not NAFTA it is lack of capital which can be changed by investment. The small scale farmers should not be selling grain in Mexicos urban market there should be local small industries producing higher value added products with the grain in those communities.


I see that the ALIPAC neo merc element has shown up here already

I don't know Richard which came first, the chicken or the egg, but right now, in all seriousness, I do not see where we have benefitted from this NAFTA deal. What you say makes sense......but those are things that should be considered and delt with in the deal, to help protect the small farmer or any of the others effected by this. But it seems they ignored all these loose ends. I don't care if it's job loss, human rights issues, safety and inspections, or what it is......but all those loose ends are making it impossible for fair competition, safe foods and products, human rights issues and everything to work fairly. Seems it's just taking a sucker out of a babys mouth and giving it to another and saying problem solved. When the reality is is, it's just transfering the problem from one group of people to another. Nothing fixed, nothing is better.....just shift the issues from this place to that one.

Seems to me that all countries make out well with NAFTA except America.
The deals we've made are like ones a complete idiot would make.

Our exports go cheaper than other country's and we pay dearly for imports??? What's up with that?