November 2003: Report Finds Numerous Negative Consequences of NAFTA, Few Benefits

A report by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace finds that the positive aspects of NAFTA just barely compensate for its negative effects. Among its findings:
The net jobs gain in Mexico has been surprisingly small. In fact, 30 percent of all jobs that have been created in the maquiladora sector (export assembly plants) have been lost as company operations have since moved to lower wage countries such as China.
Despite growth in productivity, real wages in Mexico are lower than they were when NAFTA first took effect. Although this can partially be attributed to the Peso Crisis of 1994-1995. It is also noted that wages in Mexico are “diverging from, rather than converging with, US wages.”
Income disparity has grown drastically, with the top 10 percent of households having increased its share of the national income while the remaining 90 percent has lost its share or has seen no change at all. [Papademetriou et al., 8/2003]