The debate surrounding manufacturing essay

GLOBALIZATION and the IMPACT on U.S. MANUFACTURING

Ten years ago, the debate surrounding manufacturing leaving the United States had as its focus the jobs that were being pulled southward into Mexico. Today, this issue is more urgent than previously however, the source of worry is not only focused on south of the border in Mexico. Manufacturing is increasingly relocating to Brazil, China, India, Bulgaria and Malaysia. It has been estimated by the website Economy.com, an economic consulting firm in West Chester, Pennsylvania that 1.3 million manufacturing jobs have been moved abroad since the start of 1992 and that the bulk of this has occurred in the past three years with the majority of jobs moving to Mexico and East Asia. The Trade Resource Center relates that there are ‘myths and realities of trade liberalization’. For example, a myth exists which states that “liberalization undermines environmental protection laws and harms the environment” however the truth is as follows:

1) Trade agreements do not dictate U.S. environmental law or undermine U.S. environmental laws. International trade agreements require the United States only to apply the same standards to imported products that it applies to domestic products. Trade agreements do not prevent other countries from applying the same environmental standards to U.S. goods that they apply to their own goods;

2) to achieve environmental sustainability, countries need good environmental laws and effective enforcement of those laws. Liberalized trade produces higher incomes and economic growth that make it possible for countries to improve their environmental laws and law enforcement;

3) the U.S.-Singapore and U.S.-Chile Free Trade Agreements require the governments of the United States, Chile and Singapore to (a) effectively enforce environmental laws, (b) ensure that they do not weaken their environmental laws to encourage trade or investment, and – ensure that violations of their respective environmental laws are subject to sanctions by legal procedure; and 4) Liberalized trade helps improve environmental protection by lowering the barriers to the sale of environmental technologies; enabling new investments in environmental infrastructure; and making it easier for environmental scientists, engineers and technicians to provide services to developing countries. (Trade Resource Center, nd)

The second stated myth by the Trade Resource Center to exist is the myth that posits that liberalization of trade “undermines protection for labor” however, according to the Trade Resource Center, the following statements are actually true:

1) Trade agreements do not require the United States to change its labor laws or undermine U.S. laws protecting labor rights;

2) Trade liberalization does not undermine worker rights. In fact, the opposite is true. In a study of 44 developing countries that engaged in significant trade liberalization, the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) found that “there was notably no case where the trade reforms were followed by a worsening of association rights” and that freedom-of-association rights improved in 32 of the countries after trade liberalization; and 3) the U.S.-Singapore and U.S.-Chile Free Trade Agreements require the governments of the United States, Chile and Singapore to (a) effectively enforce labor laws, (b) work to ensure that International Labor Organization (ILO) principles are protected by their domestic laws, – ensure that they do not weaken their labor laws to encourage trade or investment, and (d) ensure that legal proceedings are available to sanction violations of labor laws. (Trade Resource Center, nd)

The Trade Resource Center states that a third myth is one that holds that trade agreements “undermine U.S. sovereignty by giving international bureaucrats the power to strike down U.S. laws.” (nd) the actual truth, according to the Trade Resource Center is as follows:

1) Only the U.S. Congress and the U.S. president can make U.S. law, no international institution or foreign country can change U.S. laws;

2) Decisions by the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) dispute panels cannot override U.S. law. Those panels can only issue recommendations, and these recommendations have no force in the United States. Only the Congress and the president can decide whether to implement a panel recommendation. They can (a) revise U.S. law, (b) compensate a country harmed by a U.S. law through reductions in tariffs or other trade barriers, or – do nothing — and accept the risk that the other country may retaliate by raising tariffs or other barriers to U.S. exports; and 3) the United States may withdraw from the WTO, NAFTA, free trade agreements and all other trade agreements at any time. (Trade Resource Center, nd)

The Trade Resource Center states that a myth exists that holds that “trade liberalization increases U.S. trade deficits.” (nd) the truth, states the Trade Resource Center is that trade deficits existed for the United States prior to the existence of the WTO. The trade deficit for merchandise can be witnessed to grow as the economy grows and alternatively to shrink when the economy shrinks. The trade deficit is due to the prosperity of Americans and the strength of the economy in the United States evidenced by the ability of consumers to purchase goods that are competitively priced and the access of low-cost inputs available to producers.

Fifth and last is the myth which holds that trade liberalization.”..cause good U.S. jobs to move overseas.” (Trade Resource Center, nd) the facts include the fact that good jobs in the United States are created by trade with ten percent or approximately twelve million jobs in the United States depending upon exports. The Trade Resource Center states that one out of every five factory jobs are dependent upon international grade and that these jobs generally pay approximately 13 to 18% higher than the average wage in the United States. Also stated as truths that make this fifth and final myth null and void are the following:

U.S. plants that export increase employment 2 to 4% faster annually compared to plants that do not export. Exporting plants also are less likely to go out of business;

U.S. firms that are deeply integrated in worldwide markets are more likely to succeed in generating good jobs at home. Such jobs pay an average wage in the United States of $15,000 more than jobs in firms that are less globally integrated, or $50,000 versus $35,000; and Contrary to the predictions of a “giant sucking sound,” NAFTA has created good jobs in the United States. In the first eight years of NAFTA, the number of U.S. jobs supported by merchandise exports to Mexico and Canada grew from 914,000 to 2.9 million. Between 1993 and 2000, U.S. employment grew by 20 million. Real hourly compensation in the U.S. manufacturing sector increased by 14.4% in the 10 years following NAFTA implementation, as compared to 6.5% in the 10 years prior to NAFTA. (Trade Resource Center, nd)

This however, is not the reality of the whole picture. The World Trade Organization presents statistics and states that studies which show the findings as follows are “culled to demonstrate that current trade liberalization rules and policies have led to increased poverty and inequality, and have eroded democratic principles, with a disproportionately large negative effect on the poorest countries.” The findings spoken of include those as follows:

The numbers of people living on less than $2 per day has risen by almost 50% since 1980, to 2.8 billion -most half the world’ population. And this is precisely the period that has been most heavily liberalized. (World Bank, Global Economic Outlook 2000

Recent evidence suggests that the numbers of people living on less than $1 per day is growing in most regions of the world (with the notable exception of China). (World Bank, Global Economic Outlook 2000)

The world’ poorest countries share of world trade has declined by more than 40 per cent since 1980 to a mere 0.4 per cent. (UNCTAD), Conference on Least Developed Countries 1999)

The poorest 49 countries make up 10% of the world’ population, but account for only 0.4% of world trade. This disparity has been growing. (UNCTAD, Conference on Least Developed Countries 2001)

51 of the 100 largest economies in the world are corporations. The Top 500 multinational corporations account for nearly 70% of the worldwide trade; this percentage has steadily increased over the past twenty years. (CorpWatch)

The U.N. estimates that poor countries lose about U.S.$2 billion per day because of unjust trade rules, many instituted by our organization 14 times the amount they receive in aid. (UNCTAD, Conference on Least Developed Countries 2001)

In 59 countries, average income is lower today than 20 years ago. (United Nations Human Development Report, 1999)

Poor are getting poorer in both relative and absolute terms, as one UNICEF study has commented: ‘A new face of ‘apartheid’ is spreading across the globe. As millions of people live in wretched conditions side-by-side with those who enjoy unprecedented prosperity. (UNICEF figures based on World Bank “World Development Indicators 1997”)

In almost all countries that have undertaken rapid trade liberalization, wage inequality has increased 20-30% fall in wages in some Latin American countries. (UNCTAD 1997)

This is by no means an exhaustive list of the negative impacts due to liberalized international trade. For instance the World Trade Organization reports having “allowed First World countries to raise trade barriers protecting their companies, even as we have served as their forum for insisting that Third World countries lower their trade barriers more and more.” (WTO,

The truth is that if richer nations were to open their markets to the LDC countries for increase opportunities of export, generated would be approximately $700 billion in additional trade for developing countries. (UNCTAD Trade and Development Report, 1999; in WTO,

The World Trade Organization relates that no known causal link exists between foreign investment and the reduction of poverty as approximately eighty percent of foreign direct investment in “in the form of mergers and acquisitions, little in the form of productive investment that creates jobs and exports.”

WORLD ECONOMY in the LAST TWO DECADES

The work entitled: “The North American Integration Regime and Its Implications for the World Trading System” states that the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade of 1947 “was part of the Bretton Woods complex of international economic institutions to reconstitute the international economy following the Second World War.” (Abbott, 1999) Embodied in the GATT were “server awl foundational principles of international trade relations. The most important of these was the unconditional and most favored national (MFN) principle embodied in Article I.”Under the MFN rule, all member of GATT were obligated to extend “any tariff (or related) concession granted to one GATT member to all GATT members.” (Abbott, 1999) the purpose of the MFN was that of acceleration of the process of trade barrier elimination because ” it requires a wide dispersion of concessions among GATT members.” (Abbott, 1999) the problem it seems was the lack of a “core political motive for adoption of an unconditional MFN rule.” (Abbott, 1999)

This work goes on to relate that the legal relationship existing between the NAFTA and the WTO Agreement is one which is determined through an examination of the text of each of these treaties as well as the context of the treaties and the rules of international law governing the relationship between treaties in relation to the same and similar subject matter. It is important to note that the WTO and the NAFTA are agreements entered into between states and governed by international law therefore falling within the definition set out by the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties (VCLT). Abbott relates that risk are inherent in regional integration to the WTO system and the EU “has become such an important political and economic force that this exercise in regionalism may have diminished the importance of maintaining an open multilateral trading system from a European standpoint.” (Abbott, 1999) Abbott holds that while economic security has resulted from NAFTA in the North American region, simultaneously this has also potentially undermined the WTO roles and multilateralism. (paraphrased, 1999)

III. TECHNOLOGY: GLOBALIZATION of MARKETS and PRODUCTION

The work of Dani Rodrik (1988) entitled: “Closing the Technology Gap: Does Trade Liberalization Really Help? States that the “relationship between trade policy and technical efficiency is an old theme in economics…” (1988) the evidence that is available, according to Rodrik appears to suggest that “increases in productivity have played an important role in the economic growth of the developing countries.” However, the “contribution of productivity change relative to the growth of factor inputs has been typically not as high as in developed countries. On average, the increase in total factor productivity (TFP) accounts for about half of the growth in value added in developed economies: the comparable figure for developing countries is around a third.” (Rodrik, 2003)

The work of Sporleder and Martin entitled: “Economic Perspectives on Competitiveness Under WTO, NAFTA, and FTAA” states that policy relating to agriculture has been particularly “dynamic in most developed countries for the past several years. Key economic factors influencing trade in the past ten years are stated to be “…technological progress, globalization of the food trade and rather rapid evolution of strategic partnering and vertical integration within certain commodity subsectors.” (Sporleder and Martin, nd) Unification of the world is stated to be based upon the “leading factor…” Of “technological progress” and most particularly information technology, which is “responsible for everything from instantaneous news from all parts of the world to detailed information on grocery store product movement in a timely fashion through the use of universal product codes and front-end product scanning.” (Sporleder, and Martin, nd) There are clearly incentives economically speaking for transnational vertical integration by business “which possess proprietary rights to commercial biotechnological products or processes.” (Sporleder and Martin, nd)

Sporleder and Martin further relate that the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) served to bolster the Western Hemisphere free trade through a reduction and elimination of barriers to trade. The Free Trade of the Americas (FTAA) negotiations started in 2005 and soon thereafter NAFTA was passed and the Uruguay Round under the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) was ratified by 125 member nations. The GATT is a “world agreement that reduces trade barriers…” while the NAFTA is a “free trade agreement that seeks to remove barriers to trade among the United States, Mexico and Canada over a 15-year time frame.” (Sporleder and Martin, nd) Sporleder and Martin state that thirty-two countries in the Western Hemisphere have been established and include the following:

Latin American Integration Association (ALADI) Central American Common Market;

Bolivia, Columbia, Ecuador, Peru, Venezuela); Caribbean Community and Common Market (CARICOM);

Group of Three (Colombia, Mexico, Venezuela); and Southern Cone Common Market (MERCOSUR -Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay). (Sporleder and Martin, nd)

Sporleder and Martin relate that Chile was in the midst of negotiation in the middle of 1995 for an inclusion into NAFTA however, “incorporating established trading blocs into NAFTA is considered simpler than adding some 35 independent countries individually.” (Sporleder and Martin, nd)

The influence of NAFTA on trade has been the source of much debate as those opposed to NAFTA state the argument “that an expansion of freer trade to developing countries, such as Mexico” will result in the United States losing jobs. However, it is posited by others that “NAFTA is a boon and actually increases U.S. employment through increased trade and investment opportunities.” (Sporleder and Martin, nd) Stated to be an issue that has empirical importance is “the changes in the trade patterns caused by lessening trade barriers, which is the primary mechanism through which number of jobs and living standards are influenced.” (Sporleder and Martin, nd)

The World Trade Organization states that a key factor “in the industrial take-off of FW and industrializing countries was easy access to new technology” such as the United States copying British and Japan copying the United States and in turn, Korea copying Japan. According to the World Trade Organization, that which is “technological diffusion to the country developing is piracy to the country leading.” (2008)

IV. U.S. MANUFACTURING COMPANIES MOVING FACILITIES to CHINA, MEXICO, and OTHER DEVELOPING COUNTRIES

The work entitled: “Of Course WTO Talks Are Stalled” relates that conclusive data exists to show that “a decade of WTO implementation has left the majority in worse conditions n poor and rich countries alike.” (Public Citizen, nd) Additionally stated is that the $700 billion trade deficit in the United States “threatens global economic stability as imports boom amidst three million U.S. manufacturing job loss and stagnant real wages in WTO decade.” (Public Citizen, nd) it is related that during the WTO era the trade deficit for the United States “has risen to historic levels and approaches six percent of national income – a figure widely agreed to be unsustainable, putting the U.S. And global economy at risk. Soaring U.S. imports during the WTO decade have contributed to the loss of nearly one in six U.S. manufacturing jobs.” (Public Citizen, nd) Finally the median wages in the U.S. have risen only “scarcely above their 1970 level, while productivity has soared 82% over the same period, resulting in declining or stagnant standards of living for the nearly 70% of the U.S. population that does not have a college degree.” (Public Citizen, nd)

The work entitled: “Policy Matters Ohio: International Trade and Job Loss in Ohio” (2004) states Total nonagricultural employment in Ohio declined by 244,000 jobs between November 1999 and November 2003. The vast majority of this decline was due to the loss of 191,000 jobs in Ohio’s high-paying manufacturing sector. There are many causes for job losses in manufacturing, including relocation of production facilities to other states or foreign countries, rising imports of foreign goods, fluctuations in the business cycle, and changes in productivity levels.” (Honeck, 2004) Honeck states findings include the following:

1) TAA and NAFTA-TAA program data identified 45,734 jobs that were lost in Ohio between 1995 and October, 2003, directly due to international trade. Three-fourths (76.1%) of the job losses occurred in the 1999 to 2003 time period. The year with the highest total was 2002, during which 13,093 jobs were lost;

2) Job losses identified under these programs accounted for more than one in six of the manufacturing jobs lost in Ohio over the 1999 to 2003 time period;

3) of the total 45,734 lost jobs identified under the two programs, 14,653 were directly due to NAFTA-related reasons. Nearly two-thirds of the NAFTA-related job losses were caused by U.S. companies relocating production facilities to Mexico;

4) According to TAA and NAFTA-TAA data, Cuyahoga County lost over 5,000 jobs due to international trade, the highest number of job losses of any county. Twelve other counties had over 1,000 jobs lost due to international trade. In all, the two programs certified workers in 75 Ohio counties as having lost their jobs for trade-related reasons; and 5) the industrial sectors with the greatest numbers of trade-related job losses were in electronics and electronic equipment, primary metals, and industrial machinery and equipment (SIC-based). These three sectors together accounted for 24,981 job losses, more than half of the total identified by the trade adjustment programs from 1995 to 2003. (Honeck, 2004)

Honeck relates that the Institute for International Economics in Washington, D.C. examined the reemployment experiences of workers who were laid-off manufacturing jobs in the United States in the 1980s and 1990s and states findings that “the demographic characteristics of manufacturing workers who had lost their jobs differed significantly from workers who had lost their jobs in other economic sectors.” (2004) Specifically stated is hat the manufacturing workers were found to be “slightly older, notably less educated, with longer job tenures, somewhat more likely to be a minority, and far more likely to be production oriented.” (Honeck, 2004) the following two table show the ‘change in total nonagricultural employment in Ohio from November 1999 to November 2003 (NCAICS basis, in thousands)

Change in Total Non-Agricultural Employment in Ohio

November 1999 to November 2003 (NCAICS basis, in thousands)

Source: Honeck (2004)

Change in Total Non-agricultural employment in Ohio November 1999 to November 2003 (NAICS basis)

Source: Honeck (2004)

The following table shows the ‘change in manufacturing employment in major Ohio metropolitan areas November 1999 to November 2003 (NAICS basis in thousands)

Change in Manufacturing Employment in major Ohio Metropolitan Areas

November 1999 to November 2003 (NAICS basis in thousands)

Source: Honeck (2004)

The above table shows that there were substantial losses of manufacturing jobs in all major metropolitan areas in Ohio. Honeck relates that the drop in income resulting from manufacturing job losses that are so “severe and sudden” in nature not only impacts the workers who are laid-off as well as their families but impacts the entire community as well.

V. SOLUTIONS to MENDING MANUFACTURING in the U.S.

Ohio is not the only state that has lost a substantial number of jobs because of foreign trade and associated NAFTA and other trade agreements involved in trade liberalization. In fact, there were 1,614 establishments involving 232,898 workers and during the same period of time “the U.S. manufacturing sector shed 697,000 jobs on a SIC basis.” (Honeck, 2004) Honeck relates that part of the problem was due to the “additional tariff duties because foreign producers were subsidized or simply sold products below cost” which is a practice known as dumping.

According to the Economic Policy Institute (EPI) the estimated trade-related job loss is arrived at through use of a methodology that makes identification of net employment gains or losses in 192 SIC-based sectors of the national economy.” Addressed is the ‘double-counting’ difficulty occurring in trade statistics when the components from the U.S. are exported to a plant for foreign assembly and then shipped back to the United States as part of a product that has been completed. Honeck states: “Thus, the positive employment effects of an increase in exports may be overwhelmed by imports increasing at a faster rate. The model does not produce a cumulative total of year-to-year job losses or gains. Instead, it measures jobs and job opportunities – in other words, what employment in the manufacturing sector and closely related sectors would have been in a given year if the trade deficit had remained constant. Because the model estimates job opportunities using a hypothetical scenario in which the trade deficit remains constant, it is not equivalent to the trade adjustment assistance data, which measures only actual job losses due to imports or production relocations. The model estimates the effects of trade balances on a national level. Employment gains or losses are allocated to each state based the state’s share of employment in a specific industry.” (2004)

EPI estimates state that “…increase in the trade deficit cost a total of 3 million jobs and job opportunities in the U.S. Because the U.S. economy was close to full employment in 2000, these job losses represent a massive transfer of employment out of the manufacturing sector.” (2004) Ohio lost 135,000 jobs with more than 100,000 of these being in the manufacturing sector while in excess of 100,000 hobs were lost in California, Texas, New York, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Illinois, North Carolina, Indiana and Florida. Hardest hit was the transportation sector.” (Honeck, 2004) it is stated that there is a heated debate currently taking place concerning the “meaning of the decline in manufacturing employment.” (Honeck, 2004) Some individuals blame the trade deficit, which “shows not signs of abating.” (Honeck, 2004) the following tables lists the U.S. Trade Balance in selected manufacturing sectors between 1997 and 2002.

U.S. Trade Balance in Selected Mfg. Sectors 1997 to 2002 (in billion $, not adjusted for inflation)

Source: Honeck (2004)

Honeck states that studies have reported findings: “…that higher levels of import penetration are associated with increased likelihood of worker displacements.” (Honeck, 2004) the study of Addison et al. states findings of a “statically significant positive association between trade sensitivity and the likelihood of job loss” and state: ‘Displacements appear to be more frequent in industries with high imports and average trade penetration rates. Interestingly, displacements are fairly uncommon in industries with rapid export growth.” (Addison, et al., nd; as cited in: Honeck, 2004)

The level of import penetration as well as the country of origin are held to be important and stated is that in trade between the U.S. And developed countries intra-industry specialization is involved with companies competing on various product characteristics other than price which results in comparative advantage being created by research and development activities as well as product design, worker skills and production techniques. (Honeck, 2004; paraphrased) There is an entirely different set of dynamics when trade is occurring with countries that are less developed and as noted by Andrew Bernard and other economists of the National Bureau of Economic Research who have examined import impacts of ‘low-wage’ countries on employment at the plant-level and in relation to the product mix and output, “plants that operate in sectors with higher share of imports from low-wage countries are less likely to survive and exhibit lower rates of output and employment growth than establishments in sectors that faced less competition from low-wage countries.” (Honeck, 2004)

Additionally for those plants that face “low-wage country imports” the likelihood increases that they will change “their product mix to industries that are more capital -intensive and skill-intensive.” (Honeck, 2004) in fact Bernard et al. state finding that suggest that “important competition from low-wage countries reduces U.S. employment in three ways: (1) plant shutdowns; (2) slower growth in surviving plants that remain in the industry; and (3) a reduction in the labor-intensity of plants that switch to a new product.” (Honeck, 2004)

The conclusion of Honeck (2004) state that reconsideration to past trade agreement should be given and structure agreement analyzed insofar as the protection provided to the well-being of workers in both the United States and those countries to whom the U.S. is losing jobs because of the attraction of much cheaper labor. Trade policies are resulting in loss of jobs therefore steps needed toward minimization of the negative impacts to both workers and communities should be inclusive of:

Investment in job training and placement services for displaced workers. The Workforce Alliance argues that the federal government’s investments in workforce development programs – particularly those targeting low-income adults and youth – have seen significant cuts in recent years. Their recent report found a near 30% reduction in annual funding (inflation-adjusted) for U.S. Department of International Trade and Job Loss in Ohio;

Labor job training programs since the mid-1980s. Changes to welfare policy have often resulted in being more focused on short-term “work first” activities than on preparing people for high-wage or stable jobs;

Ensure that an intact safety net is preserved for the many workers who have lost their jobs and may not find adequate replacement employment. Fiscal constraints at the federal, state and local levels threaten many parts of Ohio’s safety net;

Recognition that communities dominated by manufacturing employment will lose a substantial share of their income from trade agreements. Take steps at the state and federal level to assist these communities in maintaining strong local economies and school systems. Currently Ohio’s system for funding K-12 education has been ruled unconstitutional for relying too heavily on local property tax funding;

Expansion of access to higher education for young people, who will increasingly be unable to find decent-wage employment without higher education. Ohio is ranked 41st among the states in its support for higher education and the portion of our state budget devoted to higher education has dropped from 17% in the late 1970s and early 1980s to 12.6% in FY 2002.52 Perhaps as a result, in the year 2000, only nine states ranked worse than Ohio in percentage of residents who had earned a BA. Better support of education, training, human services and displaced worker services may ease the transition to other economic sectors, but they will not resolve the fundamental issue of whether our trade policies should encourage such transitions in the first place. The manufacturing sector sustained Ohio’s economy for generations, and enabled millions of our citizens to enter the middle class. As yet, we have no replacement model of economic development that will create hundreds of thousands of high-paying jobs for non-college educated workers. It is vital that we reexamine our trade policies and acknowledge their true costs to Ohio and the nation. And it is imperative that we take steps to relieve those who have suffered most from these policies.” (Honeck, 2004)

As noted in this study in the previous section there are venues of relief in the rate of job loss due to the present trade liberalization and some of the solutions available have been noted to include policy and systematic changes as well as remedying the trade deficit of the United States. There is also the option of rebuilding the labor capacity in manufacturing and as well this has been noted in this study that building the capacity of workers through means of training, education, and other skill-development has the potential to greatly impact the new opportunities in manufacturing employment.

Lean Manufacturing is a concept that “encapsulates the elimination of waste, total quality (TQM), Just-in-Time (JIT), supplier integration, automation, team working, empowerment, behavior, preventive maintenance (TPM), delivery frequency, selling techniques, new product introduction, and agile manufacturing.”

Lean manufacturing is based upon the Toyota Productive System (TPS) and is a significantly unique method of running a manufacturing operation. This is not just a way that people work but instead is a culture within which people work. Lean manufacturing is based upon priorities being made clear. James Womack wrote the work entitled: “The Machine that Changed the World” in 1990 which was a candid account of the auto manufacturing industry in combination with a study conducted of automotive assembly plants in Japan, the U.S. And Europe.

The principles of the Lean Manufacturing enterprise are the following stated principles:

Zero waiting time

Zero Inventory

Scheduling — internal customer pull instead of push system

Batch to Flow — cut batch sizes

Line Balancing

Cut actual process times. (Lewis, 2002)

The work of Rizzardo and Brooks (2003) entitled: “Understanding Lean Manufacturing” states Lean should be considered much more than a series of programs and/or techniques. It is a whole new way of thinking, and includes the integration of vision, culture, and strategy to serve the customer (both internal and external) with high quality, low cost and short delivery times. Lean must become a whole systems approach in order to create a new culture and operating philosophy for eliminating all non-value adding activities from order entry to receipt of payment.” (Rizzardo and Brooks, 2003) Rizzardo and Brooks go on to relate: “A term closely associated with Lean is the Japanese word ” Kaizen ” meaning Continuous Improvement.” (Rizzardo and Brooks, 2003) Reduction of waste, improvement of quality, reduction of delivery time and assurance of a safer work area and increasing the satisfaction of customers are just some of the objectives of lean manufacturing. Basic components of lean manufacturing are the following:

1) Value stream mapping: the first step in making evaluation of a manufacturing process and is a “visual documentation of the process flow, both material and information flows are depicted. This provides a present and future view of the process in manufacturing. This view allows for elimination and reduction of waste and time.

2) Visual systems; these are used for transformation of the workplace into a place “thousands of messages concerning product quality, productivity, scheduling, and safety are accurately and rapidly delivered every day. A “Visual Workplace” is self-explaining, self-ordering, self-regulating, and self-improving, where what is supposed to happen does happen, on time, every time, day or night – because of visual systems. A visual system should answer the following six core questions, requiring visual answers; Where, What, When, Who, How Many, and How.” There are four basic visual devices, Visual Indicators, Visual Signals, Visual Controls, and Visual Guarantee (also known as mistake-proofing and poka-yoke devices). One of the main impacts visual systems will have is in eliminating non-valued added motion;

3) Setup Reduction: is driven by the need of being able to change over a given process to produce a different product in the most efficient manner. Reducing Setup (or Change Over) is the lean manufacturing technique allowing the mixing of production/products without slowing output or creating higher costs associated with non-value adding activity;

4) Pull System: a method of controlling the flow of resources by replacing only what the customer has consumed. There are several major benefits to pull systems. One benefit is the reduction of Work-in-Process (WIP); the second major benefit is it reduces scheduling complexities. Pull Systems consist of production based on actual consumption, small lot sizes, low inventories, management by sight, and better communications. Pull systems eliminate sources of waste in the production flow; and 5) Total Productive Maintenance (TPM): consists of a company wide equipment maintenance program covering the entire equipment life cycle and requires participation by every employee. The goal of TPM is to minimize downtime due to maintenance, and maximize machine uptime. One of the key elements of TPM is autonomous maintenance where the operators are responsible for maintaining their own equipment. (Rizzardo and Brooks, 2003)

SUMMARY and CONCLUSION

While it is clear that the present free-trade agreements have not culminated in anything ‘free’ to the United States, it is just as clear that the harm and negative impact to developing countries has been just as destructive if not even more so and yet, it is desirable that the United States regain its level of manufacturing employment prior to the time when companies discovered the much cheaper labor in developing countries. In order to accomplish the goal of regaining levels of manufacturing employment it will be necessary that worker training, education and skill-building are focused upon. This can be best accomplished through implementation of Lean Manufacturing, which is a successful, effective, and proven system for optimizing productivity potential in the manufacturing industry.

Bibliography

Sporleder, Thomas L. And Martin, Larry J. (nd) Economic Perspectives on Competitiveness Under WTO, NAFTA, and FTAA.

Abbott, Frederick M. (1999) the North American Integration Regime and Its Implications for the World Trading System – the NAFTA in the WTO System NYU School of law Online available at http://www.jeanmonnetprogram.org/papers/99/990201.html

Answering the Critics: The Myths and Realities of Trade Liberalization. Business Roundtable. Online available at http://trade.businessroundtable.org/trade_basics/answering_critics.html

Trade Liberalization Statistics (2008) World Trade Organization. Online available at http://www.gatt.org/trastat_e.html

Of Course WTO Talks Are Stalled: A Decade of Results Show the Model has Failed Even Explicit Promises of Increased Growth and Decreased Poverty, Yet Agenda for Current Talks Is Just More of the Same with Very Limited Possible Gains for Any and Projected Net Losses for many Countries… (nd) Public Citizen. Washington D.C.

Lewis, Robert (2002) Lean Manufacturing 30 Sep 2002. Six Sigma. Online available at http://www.isixsigma.com/dictionary/Lean_Manufacturing-116.htm

Rizzardo, David; and Brooks, Richard (2003) Understanding Lean Manufacturing. MTES: TechTip. Maryland Technology Extension Service. Online available at: Rizzardo and Brooks, 2003

Thacker, SM et al. (2008) Lean Manufacturing. Consultancy and Training Specialists Version 9. November 9, 2008. Online available at http://www.smthacker.co.uk/lean_manufacturing.htm

Honeck, Jon (2004) International Trade and Job Loss in Ohio. Policy Matters Ohio. International Trade and Job Loss in Ohio

Lessons from NAFTA: The High Cost of Free Trade (2003) Alianza Social Continental. June 2003. Hemispheric Social Alliance’s Monitoring and Alternatives Committee from Mexico, the United States and Canada.

Rodrik, Dani (1998) Closing the Technology Gap: Does Trade Liberalization Really Help? NBER Working Paper Series No. 2654 National Bureau of Economic Research, Cambridge, MA. Paper has been prepared for presentation at the WIDER conference on New

Trade Theories and Industrialization in the Developing Countries, Helsinki,

August 2-5, 1988

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Whichever your reason is, it is valid! You can get professional academic help from our service at affordable rates. We have a team of professional academic writers who can handle all your assignments.

Why Choose Our Academic Writing Service?

• Plagiarism free papers
• Timely delivery
• Any deadline
• Skilled, Experienced Native English Writers
• Subject-relevant academic writer
• Adherence to paper instructions
• Ability to tackle bulk assignments
• Reasonable prices
• 24/7 Customer Support
• Get superb grades consistently

Online Academic Help With Different Subjects

Literature

Students barely have time to read. We got you! Have your literature essay or book review written without having the hassle of reading the book. You can get your literature paper custom-written for you by our literature specialists.

Finance

Do you struggle with finance? No need to torture yourself if finance is not your cup of tea. You can order your finance paper from our academic writing service and get 100% original work from competent finance experts.

Computer science

Computer science is a tough subject. Fortunately, our computer science experts are up to the match. No need to stress and have sleepless nights. Our academic writers will tackle all your computer science assignments and deliver them on time. Let us handle all your python, java, ruby, JavaScript, php , C+ assignments!

Psychology

While psychology may be an interesting subject, you may lack sufficient time to handle your assignments. Don’t despair; by using our academic writing service, you can be assured of perfect grades. Moreover, your grades will be consistent.

Engineering

Engineering is quite a demanding subject. Students face a lot of pressure and barely have enough time to do what they love to do. Our academic writing service got you covered! Our engineering specialists follow the paper instructions and ensure timely delivery of the paper.

Nursing

In the nursing course, you may have difficulties with literature reviews, annotated bibliographies, critical essays, and other assignments. Our nursing assignment writers will offer you professional nursing paper help at low prices.

Sociology

Truth be told, sociology papers can be quite exhausting. Our academic writing service relieves you of fatigue, pressure, and stress. You can relax and have peace of mind as our academic writers handle your sociology assignment.

Business

We take pride in having some of the best business writers in the industry. Our business writers have a lot of experience in the field. They are reliable, and you can be assured of a high-grade paper. They are able to handle business papers of any subject, length, deadline, and difficulty!

Statistics

We boast of having some of the most experienced statistics experts in the industry. Our statistics experts have diverse skills, expertise, and knowledge to handle any kind of assignment. They have access to all kinds of software to get your assignment done.

Law

Writing a law essay may prove to be an insurmountable obstacle, especially when you need to know the peculiarities of the legislative framework. Take advantage of our top-notch law specialists and get superb grades and 100% satisfaction.

What discipline/subjects do you deal in?

We have highlighted some of the most popular subjects we handle above. Those are just a tip of the iceberg. We deal in all academic disciplines since our writers are as diverse. They have been drawn from across all disciplines, and orders are assigned to those writers believed to be the best in the field. In a nutshell, there is no task we cannot handle; all you need to do is place your order with us. As long as your instructions are clear, just trust we shall deliver irrespective of the discipline.

Are your writers competent enough to handle my paper?

Our essay writers are graduates with bachelor's, masters, Ph.D., and doctorate degrees in various subjects. The minimum requirement to be an essay writer with our essay writing service is to have a college degree. All our academic writers have a minimum of two years of academic writing. We have a stringent recruitment process to ensure that we get only the most competent essay writers in the industry. We also ensure that the writers are handsomely compensated for their value. The majority of our writers are native English speakers. As such, the fluency of language and grammar is impeccable.

What if I don’t like the paper?

There is a very low likelihood that you won’t like the paper.

Reasons being:

• When assigning your order, we match the paper’s discipline with the writer’s field/specialization. Since all our writers are graduates, we match the paper’s subject with the field the writer studied. For instance, if it’s a nursing paper, only a nursing graduate and writer will handle it. Furthermore, all our writers have academic writing experience and top-notch research skills.
• We have a quality assurance that reviews the paper before it gets to you. As such, we ensure that you get a paper that meets the required standard and will most definitely make the grade.

In the event that you don’t like your paper:

• The writer will revise the paper up to your pleasing. You have unlimited revisions. You simply need to highlight what specifically you don’t like about the paper, and the writer will make the amendments. The paper will be revised until you are satisfied. Revisions are free of charge
• We will have a different writer write the paper from scratch.
• Last resort, if the above does not work, we will refund your money.

Will the professor find out I didn’t write the paper myself?

Not at all. All papers are written from scratch. There is no way your tutor or instructor will realize that you did not write the paper yourself. In fact, we recommend using our assignment help services for consistent results.

What if the paper is plagiarized?

We check all papers for plagiarism before we submit them. We use powerful plagiarism checking software such as SafeAssign, LopesWrite, and Turnitin. We also upload the plagiarism report so that you can review it. We understand that plagiarism is academic suicide. We would not take the risk of submitting plagiarized work and jeopardize your academic journey. Furthermore, we do not sell or use prewritten papers, and each paper is written from scratch.

When will I get my paper?

You determine when you get the paper by setting the deadline when placing the order. All papers are delivered within the deadline. We are well aware that we operate in a time-sensitive industry. As such, we have laid out strategies to ensure that the client receives the paper on time and they never miss the deadline. We understand that papers that are submitted late have some points deducted. We do not want you to miss any points due to late submission. We work on beating deadlines by huge margins in order to ensure that you have ample time to review the paper before you submit it.

Will anyone find out that I used your services?

We have a privacy and confidentiality policy that guides our work. We NEVER share any customer information with third parties. Noone will ever know that you used our assignment help services. It’s only between you and us. We are bound by our policies to protect the customer’s identity and information. All your information, such as your names, phone number, email, order information, and so on, are protected. We have robust security systems that ensure that your data is protected. Hacking our systems is close to impossible, and it has never happened.

How our Assignment Help Service Works

1. Place an order

You fill all the paper instructions in the order form. Make sure you include all the helpful materials so that our academic writers can deliver the perfect paper. It will also help to eliminate unnecessary revisions.

2. Pay for the order

Proceed to pay for the paper so that it can be assigned to one of our expert academic writers. The paper subject is matched with the writer’s area of specialization.

3. Track the progress

You communicate with the writer and know about the progress of the paper. The client can ask the writer for drafts of the paper. The client can upload extra material and include additional instructions from the lecturer. Receive a paper.

4. Download the paper

The paper is sent to your email and uploaded to your personal account. You also get a plagiarism report attached to your paper.

GET A PERFECT SCORE!!!

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