West Michigan Company sends more jobs to Mexico

Yesterday the Grand Rapids Press reported that the Grand Haven-based company Haldex Brake Products will shut down its factory and move the rest of its production to Monterrey, Mexico.

The Press reports that the “company stated the decision to consolidate activities at its facility in Mexico was based on the significant manufacturing infrastructure and increasing amount of automotive and commercial vehicle activity in the region.” The article also said that the company will offer “severance pay, benefits continuation and out-placement services,” although it did not provide any comments from the 41 workers which just lost their jobs.

The Press reporter did not offer up any independent reasons for the company sending more jobs to Mexico, they just accepted the rationale offered by Haldex. The reporter could have provided some historical context so that readers would know exactly when Haldex first set up operations in Monterrey, Mexico and how many jobs have left West Michigan.

There is also no discussion about the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and how that trade policy provided incentives for a company like Haldex to move its operation from the US to Mexico, such as tax breaks and weaker labor and environmental standards.

According to Public Citizen, “Michigan lost over 342,325 manufacturing jobs (or 42.4 percent) during the NAFTA-WTO period (1993-2009).” This would be useful information for readers of the Press, so that they understand that this recent decision by Haldex is not an isolated one, but part of a 16-year process of job loss in Michigan.

Providing this kind of context could also be useful for the public in determining future trade agreements as well as contributing to any possible reforms or repeals of existing trade agreements. The Obama administration took office with the claim of revisiting and reforming existing trade agreements, but has yet to do anything concretely in that arena.

A November 9 poll showed that a majority of voters oppose free trade or NAFTA-like policies and believe it is a major factor in US job loss. The poll showed that both Democratic and Republican voters are opposed to such Free Trade Agreements (FTA), so there doesn’t seem to be any reason why future FTA can’t be defeated or negotiated in such a way that will actually be a benefit to workers and protecting the environment at the same time.

Lastly, it would be beneficial for the Press to provide the public with more information and more resources to further investigate trade policies, especially since so many working families are impacted by these decisions in West Michigan. There are a couple of good reports that have come out in the past year that we would recommend. The first is a report from Boston University entitled, The Future of North American trade Policy: Lessons from NAFTA. The other report, produced by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, is entitled Rethinking Trade Policy for Development: Lesson from NAFTA under Mexico.