The Free Trade Area of the Americas is a proposed trade agreement, in the spirit of NAFTA, that would reduce trade barriers between 34 nations.

It promises to promote prosperity through increased economic integration and free trade among the countries in our hemisphere, which in return would raise the standards of living, improve the working conditions of people in the Americas and better protect the environment.

But why should we believe this? Its North American counterpart, NAFTA, has accomplished nothing of the sort.

The claims of improved working conditions and better environmental protection are laughable, and the goal of increased standards of living has had mixed results, at best.

One of the main effects of NAFTA has been the relocation of U.S. factories to Mexico. The corporate reasoning behind this is that it is cheaper to produce goods south of the border than it is to make them here. The biggest factor in the price differential is the lower labor costs, but still significant are the savings on workplace safety and environmental regulations.

One example of the huge disparity in environmental standards is the different goals of our respective environmental administrations. The environmental policies of the Mexican government are focused more on increasing industrial production than on actually protecting their natural surroundings.

Workers across the border are being exploited for their cheap labor, often times not even making enough money to compensate for their daily expenditures. According to the U.N. Conference on Trade and Development, wages for unskilled workers have dropped by 20 to 30 percent in developing countries that have opened themselves to similar trade agreements.

In the United States, manufacturing jobs have been disappearing at an alarming rate. According to the U.S. Department of Labor, 3.8 million American manufacturing jobs have been lost since September of 1998. Jobs are being lost at a steady rate each month. This is not a fad or a trend but a systematic dismantling of the manufacturing base of America.

So who is benefiting from the free trade system? Most people are led to believe consumers benefit because they are able to buy products at a cheaper price. These cheaper prices are little consolation to the consumers who have lost their jobs due to outsourcing.

In reality, the people who are reaping the rewards are the corporate giants. Since 1996, CEO pay has increased by more than 350 percent, according to a report by Business Week.

Adam Smith, the founding father of capitalism, said, “Every business transaction is a challenge to see that both parties come out fairly.” A successful global economy must not leave out any individuals. The current free trade system cannot accomplish this.