NAFTA's
Free trade advantages
While some are critical of NAFTA and blame free trade agreements for the loss of U.S. jobs to lower-cost producers, free trade clearly promotes greater access to world markets. NAFTA, for example, has increased U.S. exports by giving U.S. organizations greater access to 105 million Mexican and 32 million Canadian consumers. U.S. exporters benefit when they diversify into new markets to counterbalance economic cycles. "When there is a recession in the United States and orders are down, the export market offers a way to increase sales," explains Robert Kurek, International Trade Specialist for KeyBank. The demand abroad for U.S. products is strong. Capital equipment manufacturers in the Midwest, for example, are finding success exporting to Latin America, Europe, Asia and the Middle East, Kurek says. Popular export goods include cranes, engines and machines that make other machines, he says.
