North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) Essay

North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) - Essay Example The U.S.-Canada agricultural provisions for Free Trade Agreement were incorporated into the NAFTA in 1989. With the creation of NAFTA all tariffs affecting agricultural trade between the United States and Canada were all removed but with very few exceptions for items covered by tariff-rate quotas. Moreover, Mexico and Canada also reached a separate bilateral NAFTA harmony on market entree for farm products. The Mexican-Canadian agreement also served in the elimination of a number of tariffs. However, some tariffs remained in force between countries such as those affecting trade in dairy, poultry, eggs, and sugar products. This paper intends to highlight some of the reasons behind Canada, the US, and Mexico, entering into the NAFTA, the concerns of each nation, and finally determine whether these concerns materialized. The Conception of the NAFTA Idea The most significant characteristic of the manner in which the free trade within the Western Hemisphere had influenced the trading syst em was a culmination of efforts to bridge the gap between the Northern and Southern Divide. NAFTA ensures that there is free trade between a major developing country and two developed countries that have undergone significant industrial revolution. This agreement in its entirety is usually based fully on reciprocal commitments. For instance, Mexico, in its own self-interest decided to open its market to far better degree as compared to United States and Canada. Mexico made this move because its tariffs accompanied by other border restriction were much higher at the onset. In addition, some of the areas of commitment that were extremely significant to Mexico include intellectual right to property, unrestricted procurement, ventures, and free transportation. It is worth noting that the sharp peculiarity between developed and developing nations, which permeated the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) and currently the World Trade Organization (WTO) and which held the history of preferential trade considerations was not included within NAFTA. Furthermore, the outlook for a Free Trade Area of the America (FTAA) agreement aims at continuing with this non-special/non-differential affiliation. Even the small countries are certain to receive special and fair treatment since the implementation of free trade commitments and such regional integration on non-preferential basis is likely to have a considerable impact on the future of NAFTA. In fact, this process of developing a comprehensive free trade area within the Western Hemisphere through closing down the gap between the developed and developing nations or countries is compatible with the continued transformation of the multilateral World Trade Organization. However, there were various reasons behind Canada, Mexico, and US joining North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), which are discussed hereunder: Reasons behind Canada’s Entry into NAFTA Upon the introduction of NAFTA, Canada did not welcome t he idea of expanding the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) to a third country. In Ottawa, politicians were reticent in regards to the FTA and therefore they questioned the insight of additional tribulations. Nevertheless, through absolute expediency, Canada realized that the Mexico and U.S. were more than willing to sign an agreement in the midst of

Hazardous Waste Contamination & Treatment Risk Assessment Geohydrology Essay

Hazardous Waste Contamination & Treatment Risk Assessment Geohydrology & Contaminant Transport - Essay Example In 1981, it was discovered by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, that the company was disposing its waste inappropriately, through pouring the waste sludge on the parking lot, while also disposing the solvents into an a drain leading to an abandoned septic system (NPL, 2013). The health department of the state then tested the wells in the vicinity of the company and found them to be contaminated with Trichloroethylene (TCE). The company then installed carbon filters on its well system and those of some neighboring homes, but later closed down in 1985, without fulfilling the requirement for the waste and toxic contaminant cleanup (NPL, 2013). b. How it was contaminated The sludge dumped by this company on the drainage system and parking lot was found to contain a hazardous contaminant called Trichloroethylene (NPL, 2013). The company found its way on the Superfund Site List in December 1982, after having dumped waste products in the form of sludge and solvent s on its site, since 1968 to 1981 (NPL, 2013). c. The contaminants of concern Trichloroethylene (TCE) is a colorless liquid that is used as a solvent to remove grease from any metallic components, and is also used as a component in spot removers, paint removers and also adhesives (NPL, 2013). This colorless liquid has a sweet scented smell and is inflammable, and the sweet scent is even projected when the substance is burning. Trichloroethylene as a contaminant dissolves in little water, but remains longer in ground water, especially in the water wells (NPL, 2013). However, considering that it is vaporizable, whenever it comes into the surface of soils or water, the chemical components vaporizes into the air, but it vaporizes slowly from the soil than surface waters, considering that it attaches to particles and can remain there for long. Despite the fact that it does not build-up easily in plants and animals, trichloroethylene sticks to water and soil particles, which eventually ca uses it to settle down at the lower sediment levels in a water body or a water wells (NPL, 2013). The trichloroethylene exposure can occur through breathing in air that contains the vapors of the chemical, or even through drinking or swimming in the water that is already contaminated by the chemical (NPL, 2013). It can also be contacted through using showering water that is already contaminated with the trichloroethylene chemical component, this time through breathing in the vapors and also through skin contact. The health effects of trichloroethylene on humans depends on the amount that is ether ingested or breathed in. when small amounts of trichloroethylene are breathed in, they may cause the individual to suffer from headaches, dizziness and lung irritations (NPL, 2013). However, when the amount of the trichloroethylene breathed increases, it may cause more fatal health conditions, such as unconsciousness and impaired heart functions and to the extreme, death (NPL, 2013). Additi onally, whenever trichloroethylene is breathed for long, notwithstanding that it could be in small amounts, it can easily result to the damage of the nerves, as well as the damage and impairment of the kidney and the liver (NPL, 2013). The same effects of breathing large amounts of trichloroethylene are also felt whenever large amounts of the same chemical compound is ingested through drinking, where impaired heart