1. Toward Sustainable Trade in the Americas? Lessons from Mexico
Lecciones de Mexico: Impactos Ambientales y Sociales del TLC Lessons from Mexico: Environmental and Social Impacts of NAFTA in Mexico
Moderator, Cyrus Reed
Texas Center for Policy Studies
12/6/2018
Toward Sustainable Trade in the Americas? Lessons from Mexico

2. Toward Sustainable Trade in the Americas? Lessons from Mexico
Panelists
Miguel Angel Torres, PECE, Aguascalientes
Maquiladora and Export-Led Development in Aguascalientes
Tim Wise, GDAE
Corn and Coffee Farmers
Javier Balderas
Infrastructure development and resistance in Oaxaca and Beyond
Alejandro Villamar
Human Rights and the Environment: Peasant Ecologists of Guerrero
12/6/2018
Toward Sustainable Trade in the Americas? Lessons from Mexico

3. Location of Free Trade Case Studies
12/6/2018
Toward Sustainable Trade in the Americas? Lessons from Mexico

4. Toward Sustainable Trade in the Americas? Lessons from Mexico
Overview/Sumario
Lessons from Case Studies
Conclusion: Growth Overwhelms Its Own Benefits/Crecimiento socava sus propios beneficios;
Growth is not distributed equitably/el crecimiento no es equitativo
Trade Readiness: NAFTA Institutions a Small, but Needed Step Forward
People in Mexico have not stood idly by, but reacted/La gente de Mexico se han reaccionado
12/6/2018
Toward Sustainable Trade in the Americas? Lessons from Mexico

5. Toward Sustainable Trade in the Americas? Lessons from Mexico
Fact: Maquiladoras Plants, Employment and Values Have Increased, Particularly in Interior
12/6/2018
Toward Sustainable Trade in the Americas? Lessons from Mexico

6. Toward Sustainable Trade in the Americas? Lessons from Mexico
Fact: Authorized Hazardous Waste Management Facilities Have Increased since NAFTA
12/6/2018
Toward Sustainable Trade in the Americas? Lessons from Mexico

7. Lessons from TCPS Case Studies
Difficulty in obtaining access to basic information
Changing economic and legal framework makes it difficult to control or guide their own development–
Some benefits locally but also negative impacts,
Economic changes spurred by export-led development have undermined local markets and alternative development strategies
NAFTA has produced winners and losers in Mexico, as any economic agreement would
Chapter 11 investor rights has already impacted environmental enforcement and regulations in Mexico
Civil society, however, has not stood idly by, but sought to enact change, from an alternative PPP, to a new state emissions registry in Aguascalientes to demands for more information about hazardous waste facilities
Public Participation, access to information, appropriate environmental/labor standards, and ability to control local markets/regulations, need to be considered along with investor rights and tariff reductions
12/6/2018
Toward Sustainable Trade in the Americas? Lessons from Mexico

8. Toward Sustainable Trade in the Americas? Lessons from Mexico
Basic Problems
The Asymmetries of Trade Should have been dealt with up front
U.S. vs. Mexican economy
Capacity to assess investment proposals
Capacity to recapture part of investment for infrastructure, growth mitigation
Issue of farm subsidies
Labor – US Economy has imported Mexican Labor where foreign investment has not –has not been addressed
Let countries help their local industry, farmers
IF local farmers are “inefficient” is the only alternative to let them starve? Once they sell off land, that option goes…
Export-led, foreign-investor development leads to growth, though not equitably, and some economic benefits, but no mechanism to deal with impacts of growth..degradation, natural resource exploitation, worker squatter communities, hazardous waste, etc.
12/6/2018
Toward Sustainable Trade in the Americas? Lessons from Mexico

9. NAFTA Positives: Creation of New Institutions
Labor/Community/Latino/Enviro groups made the US/Mexico border a high priority
To get a couple border votes, two new institutions were created – BECC and NADBANK
BECC– Assess and certify environmental infrastructure projects along the border
NADBANK – Fund the projects and also fund community adjustment assistance program
12/6/2018
Toward Sustainable Trade in the Americas? Lessons from Mexico

10. North American Commission on Environmental Cooperation
Assessing and attempting to develop a more common toxic release inventory;
Sound management of chemicals Program – Lindane, Chlordane, Mercury, etc.
An attempt to hazardous waste regulations
Creation of an Article 14, 15 – Citizen Complaint Petition Process against governments for not enforcing environmental laws
12/6/2018
Toward Sustainable Trade in the Americas? Lessons from Mexico

11. My questions to panelists
What have the social and environmental impacts of NAFTA-led Growth in Mexico (Cuales han sido los impactos del TLC en Mexico?)
How have people reacted to these impacts/what actions have they taken? Como han reaccionado la gente ante estos impactos?
12/6/2018
Toward Sustainable Trade in the Americas? Lessons from Mexico

12. For More Information/ Para Mas Informacion
Global Development and Environment Institute, Tufts Un
(ase.tufts.edu/gdae)
RMALC-Red Mexicana de Accion Frente el Libre Comercio (
Information on S. Mexico/C.America resistance
Texas Center for Policy Studies
12/6/2018
Toward Sustainable Trade in the Americas? Lessons from Mexico