How NAFTA Has Helped Pennsylvania

by Alan Reynolds - Cato Institute

The 1993 North American Free Trade Agreement, and free trade in general, emerged as hot campaign issues in the Democratic primary race. This is particularly odd in Pennsylvania because the state economy has done very well in exporting manufactured goods — something that would have been quite difficult if Canada and Mexico had not agreed to reduce their tariffs on U.S. goods.

Pennsylvania shipped $9.2 billion worth of export merchandise to Canada in 2007 — 32 percent of the state total — and $2.2 billion of goods to Mexico, according to the International Trade Administration.

Pennsylvania's exports to Mexico rose 81 percent from 1993 to 2003 and exports to Canada rose 61 percent. The ITA notes that export-supported jobs linked to manufacturing account for an estimated 4.3 percent of Pennsylvania's total private-sector employment. Nearly one-sixth (16.5 percent) of all manufacturing workers in Pennsylvania depend on exports for their jobs.

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