Displacements in Major Manufacturing Countries
The transfer of jobs to lower wage- and production-cost countries often results in major social and economic displacements in the manufacturing country. Displacements occur as large sectors of land are reserved for the production of exports for wealthier markets and as people leave traditional agriculture and local industry to work in export-related industries. Free trade also displaces large groups of people through immigration, emigration and guest-worker programs. The majority of foreign cash remissions in many nations, like the Philippines and Vietnam, are from workers taking jobs in manufacturing nations like Taiwan, China, South Korea and Japan. This creates problems ranging from exploitation to human trafficking. Although displacement is in many ways negative, U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon cites several positive aspects of free trade, including more rapid industrial and economic development in some exporting nations.