NALFTA

You have heard of NAFTA, the North American Free Trade Agreement. It allowed imports and export between Canada, the United States, and Mexico, without tariffs. The problem with trade is when a country imports more than it exports.

I am part of the NALFTA. You may wonder what that is. It is the North American Leaf Free Trade Agreement. I do not remember signing up but apparently I am a member. It must be a local agreement between neighbors. It provides for the free exchange of leaves from our trees. Today I spent hours dealing with leaves, my neighbors doing the same in their yards.

As I was gathering leaves into bags, I tried to examine them for the tree of origin. They are not marked, made in Mexico or made by the neighbor’s tree but I can tell that some of them are not mine by the kind of leaf. We do not grow that tree or bush in our yard. So, as I examined them, I was wondering if there was a trade imbalance. Are more leaves being imported into my yard than I am export to the neighbors?

So far, no one has said anything about the leaves I have exported nor have I said anything about the leaves imported to my yard. A wind could fill my yard again with the neighbor’s leaves, or maybe it could blow the rest of mine to the neighbors. Upon closer examination, I see most of the leaves in my yard are from my trees. I have watched some of the leaves from our trees cross property lines in accordance to the NALFTA.

I believe I am exporting more than I am importing. It sure works well when you do. I like being a member of the NALFTA. Sometimes I do feel sorry for the neighbors who have to rake my leaves from their yard but they are members too.

So as they rake my leaves, I think of it as the windfall of the NALFTA.