| Description |
The North American Free Trade Agreement was designed to open the markets of Mexico, Canada and the United States, forming the largest regional trading bloc in the world. While the international benefits appeared endless, U.S. domestic groups believed national interests was neglected, and they forcefully opposed NAFTA. A struggle began between these two groups to influence policymakers within the United States. It is the intent of this paper to study how the domestic groups In the case study of NAFTA affected American foreign economic policy. The neo-liberal paradigm will be applied to this case study, written by Peter Katzenstein. As a weak state, or one that is impressioned by domestic pressure groups, the US is sensitive to social and economic conditions within the country. Groups which represent these interests therefore have influence over policy as the government tries to reconcile public interest with economic policy. In a weak state, like the U.S., interest groups compete with one another to hold the largest amount of influence, and the winner of the struggle is awarded policy. This explains why NAFTA was passed. International circumstances occurred which shaped strong domestic interests. For example, the hegemonic decline of the U.S. was aggravated by the emergence of other regional trading blocks, limiting U.S. power during trade negotiations world wide. In addition, the interdependence of nations was influenced by the technological revolution in transportation and communication. Multinational businesses and organizations encouraged the U.S. to participate in this emerging international system. This external pressure formed strong lobbying interests domestically. Two major pressure groups competed for influence in the policy making realm, the labor unions and the big business advocates. The U.S., as a weak state, stepped back as an impartial referee, willing to shape policy to the interests of the pressure group -- the pro-NAFTA forces. The study of domestic interest groups is imperative to understand how American foreign economic policy is made. This paper analyzes these factors to understand that in the NAFTA debate, policy was a function of domestic politics; combined with international influences. |
