PAST EFFORTS AT JOINDER

In 1992, a compact establishing a North American Free Trade Area (now referred to as "NAFTA") was signed by Canada, Mexico, and the United States.  Its purpose was freer movement of goods, services, and investment (but not people) across these nations' respective borders.  United States President Clinton envisioned the birth of a new global economic relationship, whereby more freedom of trade and closer ties would assist the economies of all.  By 1994, it was plain that the NAFTA program had greatly boosted North American commerce.  Therefore, in December of that year, President Clinton peoposed to expand NAFTA to the entire hemisphere.  In this regard, a number of national governments agreed to begin negotiations aimed at forming an entity to be known as the Free Trade Area of the Americas by 2005.  850 million people would be the recipients of economic benefit from such an entity.

During the same peiod, on the other side of the world, Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam proclaimed a common market, in 1994, calling it the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.  That same year, eighteen European countries, including France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and the United Kingdom, created a common market known as the European Economic Area. 

The aforesaid GATTwas formally given a new identity in 1995, and was thenceforth known as the World Trade Organization.  Its responsibilities were enlarged, and it became a "full-fledged international organization."

As can be readily concluded from the foregoing, associations, negotiations, and agreements of this nature have not been exclusively by or among the larger nation-states.  Witness, as a further example, how a number of nations within the Pacific Rim area recently formed an economic alliance known as the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation, agreeing to work toward the establishment of a free trade zone in their region by the year 2020. 

A further example of this may be derived from French President Chirac's invitation, in 2003, to leaders from twelve less developed states lying far and wide within our world, to a meeting of the
"G-8" (being a conference scheduled to be attended by the world's eight largest industrial nations) on June 1st of that year, in Evian, France.  President Chirac desired to demonstrate to the leaders of these twelve less economically developed countries how prosperity in the currently more industrialized West actually hinges upon their simultaneous economic cooperation as well.

On January 25, 2003, a World Economic Forum opened in Davos, Switzerland.  It was attended by twenty or so presidents and prime ministers, as well as a large number of other senior government officials and top executives from around the world.  This once again underscores the current trend toward meetings seeking worldwide participationfor the purpose of discussing economic issues, and solving problems related thereto.

Global capitalism has produced a great deal of benefit in many parts of the world.  It is reported that per capita income, as averaged on a worldwide basis, has tripled during the last thirty five years.  Moreover, technology and its attendant improvements are said to have reached into every city, village, and settlement across the globe, generally decreasing infant mortality and increasing life expectancy.  Literacy has also increased as a result of this new worldwide orientation that society has adopted.  However, there still remains a great deal to be done.  The "tripling" of income referred to above has not benefitted everyone.  Economic globalization has as yet failed to actually reduce poverty, or increase incomes or economic equality, among the poorest members of our society.  And as the rich among us continue to become wealthier, the poor in many places remain poverty-stricken, sick, and starving.

It is hoped that one day, in a world without borders, there will be complete free movement of goods from anywhere to anywhere.  Of course, this could not happen without universal economic and currency systems as well, whereby prices would not vary (except for added costs related to shipping, storage, etc.); and the wages of all who produced these goods would likewise be free from the great variations that exist in our world today--due, at least in major part, to these very price variations herein rewferred to.  (I intend to speak later concerning an international economy and currency.)