Rhian Morgan
Staff Writer

Associate Professor of Economics Julius Walecki led a presentation and engaged in a discussion with University of La Verne students and faculty on the issues of free trade March 16.

The presentation, titled “How Free Is Free Trade? NAFTA, EU and the Environment” looked at the advantages and disadvantages of free trade – that is, the removal of government restrictions regarding the importing and exporting of goods between countries – and how they affect the environment and the economy.

Walecki has worked for the federal government in Ottawa, Canada and the provincial government in Toronto, Canada. He has been involved in free trade negotiations including the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and the Canada-U.S. Free Trade Agreement. He is particularly interested in the changing international business environment.

“The topic that is hot on the agenda is that all three countries, Mexico, the United States and Canada, are worried they are going to lose all their jobs to free trade,” Walecki said.

The main argument against free trade is job loss. With no barriers restricting trade between countries there will be less employment opportunities. Liberal thinkers see free trade as laissez faire, meaning countries will be left to look after themselves without government assistance.

Some trade negotiations are seen as an attempt by the United States
government to take over smaller countries. Many argue that free trade will cause damage to the environment too, by the pollution that it would produce due to the lack of restrictions on shipments.

Walecki discussed both sides of the debate, but made clear his stance on free trade.

“All nations, no matter what their developmental state, will benefit from international trade,” he said. “Under free trade all countries truly can win.”
Walecki said that he sees no conflict between free trade and the environment.

“Free trade will lead to more economic development,” he said. “We need to find a balance between economic development and the environment.”
Junior history major Efrain Partida attended the presentation and said that it brought up some interesting views.

“Coming here I had a negative view on free trade, and this made me see a different perspective on it,” Partida said. “The thing that caught my attention was Walecki’s theory on ?comparative advantage, which basically said that countries benefit from free trade.”

Comparative advantage explains why it can be beneficial for two countries to trade, even though one of them may be able to produce goods more cheaply than the other. The important thing is the ratio between how easily the two countries can produce different goods, rather than the absolute cost of production.

Kenneth Marcus, associate professor of history at ULV, organized the event as part of the Hot Spot series.

“There’s a lot of discussion about free trade,” he said. “I wanted the student body to see Walecki’s argument. He is coming from a particular perspective and I wanted them to see an alternate viewpoint. He has had a lot of involvement in the issue.”

Ambassador George McGovern, previously a U.S. senator and presidential candidate will be coming to ULV on April 11 to give a presentation on “The Art of Diplomacy”. The talk will take place at 11 a.m. in the La Fetra auditorium.

Rhian Morgan can be reached at rhian.morgan@blueyonder.co.uk.